Overall the model health inquiry is a positive thing but I’m not sure how the health certificate would work. When girls jet into London, they don’t have time to do tests; castings for shows, where designers choose which girls they would like to model their outfits, mostly occur about eight hours before the shows — it’s that last-minute. And sometimes girls get double-booked, so designers can often be quite desperate. Also, would it mean anything? Anyone can pass the certificate and then go and lose a stone; how would that be regulated? One solution might be to ensure that the shows aren’t back-to-back, so that models wouldn’t be working such punishing hours.

I started magazine editorial modelling at 12 and then commercial and catwalk modelling two years ago, when I turned 18. I’ve now done four seasons of London Fashion Week, including modelling for designers such as Paul Smith and Jasper Conran. I’ve never felt the pressure to diet to be ultra-skinny. I’m a UK size 8 but I’ve got boobs and a bum and thankfully there are some designers, such as Conran, whose clothes need that womanly frame.

It can be super-stressful during the shows: some models are doing up to seven shows a day and don’t have time to eat, so any initiatives that the British Fashion Council would consider, such as a rest-and-eating area as well as nutritionists and counsellors, would be an excellent idea. I’m lucky that my modelling agency, Premier, looks after its models; the girls there are healthy. I don’t come across lots of London Fashion Week girls who are super-thin or ill-looking and I have never had pressure to lose weight.

Interview by Carolyn Asome

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