Globe News
Wirral beauty queen proves she's not 'just a pretty face' on TV dating show
4:57pm Monday 6th February 2012
A WIRRAL beauty queen was the stand-out star of ITV's Take Me Out as she put a womanizing contestant firmly in his place at the weekend.
Stephanie Hodson, from Upton, appeared on the dating show on Saturday night and held nothing back in telling Damion Merry what she thought.
The show, which is presented by Paddy McGuinness, features 30 girls who are all in search of a date on the "Isle of Fernando's" in Cyprus.
Each week a handful of single men come down the "love lift" to try to impress the women who can turn their lights off if they are not sold.
To help with their decision the women are shown a film from the man's friends and family but Damion's revealed he had once dated former glamour model Jodie Marsh.
But after getting down to the final two, blond Stephanie, 23, was unimpressed when Damion told the girls he would have preferred a brunette.
When asked what she would take with her on a desert island, Stephanie, who was crowned Miss Intercontinental England last year, replied: "I would usually have a really good answer to this if I liked the lad but..."
Her comments were met with cheers and applause from the studio audience and Stephanie found herself trending worldwide on Twitter.
She said: "My friends applied to the show for me last January and I had no idea until I got a call a few months later. It has been an amazing experience and so much fun.
"At first Damion seemed really nice and down to earth but then it downhill from there.
"I wasn't bothered that he had dated Jodie Marsh because we all go out with people who are not right for us and on a show like that, you have got to just see it as a bit of fun.
"But when he offended basically half of us by saying he would have preferred to go out with Lucy and that he liked brunettes, we couldn’t believe it.
"I really didn’t want to go on a date with him at that point so that’s why I said what I did."
Trainee pilates instructor Stephanie, who speaks fluent German and French, became the first contestant in the show’s three series to have a fellow single lady switch off her light before the man got there.
And the university graduate is keen to let people know she is not just a "pretty face".
Stephanie added: "I think people can stereotype the girls who go on Take Me Out and assume we're desperate and have no brains.
"But it's a bit of light-hearted fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously.
"I'd definitely recommend the show to other girls because I have met some great friends who I still see now.
"I can't give too much away but people should keep watching over the next few weeks to find out if I get a date."
Take Me Out is on ITV1 this Saturday at 8pm.