We all remember the Clotheshow from our youth. But these days it's transformed from filling our TV schedule to packing the Birmingham NEC with 40,000 people a day.

Over it's six-day schedule, Select Model Management were in residence to scout for the official Clotheshow Face of the year. And with the hit reality TV show, Model Behaviour behind them we thought we'd quiz head scout and judge, Gemma Shaw about what it takes to wow the fashion elite and handle the inevitable celebrity that comes with it…

Steal-Life: What do you do at Select Model Management?
Gemma Shaw: I basically scout new talent that I can mould. I create a model out of a girl by transforming her exterior. Then with the models new image, I market and develop her a career.

SL: Is this what Select is doing at this year's Clotheshow Live?
GS: Select's biggest scouting ground is the Clotheshow Live. For years we've been the only International model agency attending this event. We are the official agency that finds 'The Face of Clotheshow'.

This event directly hits our target audience of 12-26 year olds. Our past winners have all gone on to be superstars. Lisa Ratliffe in 1999, James Penfold in 2000 and Louise Adkins in 2002 have all worked with and become faces for the likes of Calvin Klein, Verses, Prada, Burberry and Paul & Joe as well as appearing in Vogue, ID, Face and Glamour.

SL: So are you looking for something specific then?
GS: We're never really looking for a specific look. We either look for girls that are classic beauties or that are perhaps what we call editorial looking. I suppose we are in a way looking for a unique look, one that will be the new season's sensation.

SL: Did you find it?
GS: Oh definitely yes! We've found at least 10 great girls this year that'll be strutting the catwalks next season and hopefully go on to be the face of a fashion brand like Prada or Calvin Klein.

SL: What makes a good model?
GS: A good model is more than just looks. They really need to be grounded and not effected by rejection or adulation. They need to see modelling as fun but remain a professional too.

SL: That makes sense for models scouted in your traditional way, but do you think the Model Behaviour models will have a different experience of the fashion industry because of their instant celebrity status?
GS: I think it's hard for the Model Behaviour models. They've embarked on a very competitive career but have also been thrust to celebrity status. Their fame is not Hollywood movie star but it has been sudden. As long as they stay as grounded as they are now, it shouldn't effect them too much.

Their experiences have been different from a normal model mainly because of the competition. They've been on permanent fast forward and in constant competition with each other. Although models will go up for the same jobs the intensity of their rivalry is not as strong as before now we have one winner, they can see they're all equal.

SL: Model Behaviour was a success then?
GS: Model Behaviour was a great success for us. Even aside from the finalists, we found some great models throughout the auditions. I'm also glad that viewers had a glimpse of what modelling is like from the inside and how the industry works, even if sometimes it wasn't always accurate.

SL: How did you find your own instant celebrity status?
GS: As you can imagine it 's been difficult, but the Hollywood contracts are flooding in.

www.selectnewfaces.com