WHEN
BEAUTY MET THE
BEASTS
Meet Karina Holmes, the ultimate city girl and top UK Model. Her inviting blue eyes are inset into a face that has graced the covers of UK glossy mags: Front, Loaded, Zoo, Nuts and many more. To be fair, it has earned Karina a good living; she drives a Porsche, enjoys the champagne lifestyle and is the life and soul of a party.
But now she wants to exchange the high life for wildlife in a brand new series from the producers of Animal Planet UK's "The Big Five Challenge" and "Bundoo Boyz", Godunnit Promotions.
"They say that you have a [short] shelf life in modelling" says Karina "and I want to do something more rewarding and meaningful". Which is probably why, a few months ago, she spent two months on safari pushing her insurance policy to the limit! "Originally I wanted to do fashion [TV]" admits Karina, but she chose animals and danger over Armani and Dior. "I have always been interested in wildlife and animales so the opportunity to do a safari programme was perfect" says Karina.
Little did Karina know that what the producers had planned for her was not the lush pampering of a boutique lodge...
Sleeping many a night in tents with only a thin sheet of canvas between her and the most dangerous animals in the world, Karina was certainly out of her comfort zone! By the time Karina was getting used to this new lifestyle, she had been 'horned' by an elephant, seen two black mamba snakes fighting, walked accross the top of the mighty Victoria Falls, charged at by a lion... not once. Not twice. But four times!
And all of this was caught on tape!
"The guide with me had a gun" says Karina, shuddering at the thought, "but I knew that by the time he'd got a hand on it, the lion would have had an arm or a leg!"
Despite the excitement and danger, Karina was also amazed and awed by the natural beauty of Southern Africa. "Filming this series has changed my life" says Karina. "It has really opened my eyes to a new world where there is no rehearsal, no stage and every single move you make, really is a matter of life and death."
For more information and on line screeners click here.