A rundown of the scandals and controversy that plague our favourite local show. We love the intrigue!
Firstly, a definitive timeline of the exposed youthful boobs scandal:

By now I'm sure everybody has heard about the 'are they naked/aren't they naked' controversy on NZNTM.  Shall we wade into this murky abyss?  Take my hand and don't forget to don your wellies:

• On Friday's show we saw the girls stripping down to nude boob tubes and underpants for their photo session with photographer Jackie Meiring.  Michaela said that she was worried at first about doing the shoot because she is religious but was now happy with her decision to continue.  Viewers watching assumed that Michaela had some reservations about posing in such a revealing outfit, but was she really referring to posing topless?  When the final photos were revealed at judging any hint of bosom was concealed by strategically placed mystery mist.

• Monday comes and the photos from the Rotorua shoot are posted on TV3's website.  People start discussing on Twitter and blogs whether the photos were appropriate, as they look rather more revealing than we all remembered.  TV3 responded that same day saying:

"Michaela, Danielle and Amelia all wore adhesive covers for the mud pool shoot.  We make every effort to protect the girl's modesty and none of the girls are forced to do anything that they aren't comfortable doing."

On the NZNTM twitter account they posted:

"For all those concerned about the images from last weeks episode, the girls are not naked. They have bits on their bits." 

Danielle was wearing a red raffia boob obscurer for her shoot so I doubt there was ever any chance of her flashing the cameras anyway. Amelia is the oldest at 22 so you could argue it's more acceptable for to be photographed partially nude.  Michaela is the one people were most concerned about; at 16 she is one of the youngest in the house.

Getting your gear off is part of the job description for a model so it's something I'm sure the girls have all considered and come to terms with.  What's perplexing is why didn't they photograph them all naked/clothed?  It's still a competition and shouldn't they all be competing under the same conditions?  It's rather unfair that the girls who went sans boob tube are subjected to the nations scrutinous magnifying glasses hovering over computer monitors, trying to confirm whether there were actually adhesive 'bits' attached.  Not me of course, I went straight to the top to get to the bottom of this and engaged the services of the Hubble telescope.  Still waiting for a response from NASA.

• The next day, Tuesday, TV3 release another statement to say that they had 2 disks of images and they accidentally uploaded the photos that had not been retouched.  That is even worse!  They are now acknowledging that those photos weren't for public consumption.  Awww girls, I hope they make this up to you.

Spoilsports

• Then, on Wednesday the Herald cold-heartedly published the names of the six finalists who were filmed at their overseas location (BIG SPOILER ALERT IF YOU CLICK ON THIS LINK BUT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE.  How could you Herald?  You know we're not made of stone.  You know we have no self-control when it comes to local reality TV outcomes.  Why couldn't you have kept us in the dark?  Just this once, what I wouldn't give to be uninformed!  NZNTM's Facebook and Twitter pages say 'don't believe everything you read' but I think it's safe to say we can in this case.  I can't imagine TV3 have the budget for decoys.

Making up is hard to do

• Tomorrow's episode of NZNTM is the most anticipated of the series (bar the finale), the always explosive makeover episode! In the promo we see Nellie/Elza having a panic attack, possibly caused by the voluminous perm she is now sporting.  Surely that's no cause for tears?  A perm will fall out eventually; or has she just been told they've decided to go with a mullet?  I hope her twinly counterpart gets a buzz cut for contrast.  Lauren looks to be very averse to changing her mousy brown tresses.  I do sympathise, when you're a girl your hair is your crowning glory and the thought of getting your locks chopped can be traumatic, but if it means a shot at a fabulous career I'd say grab those clippers and feel free to go Britney-style on my skull.