Tyson Beckford: I Helped My Girlfriend Tone Up, Become A Real Model

Tyson Beckford isn't the top male model on our radar these days (that distinction goes to Baptiste Giabiconi, who's been running around town with one bright-haired pop star). But his new gig as a judge on "Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model" has seemingly earned him the respect of Brits, who interviewed him for the London Evening Standard.

So what else has the 41-year-old male model been up to these days? The Evening Standard finds that he's been spending time with Victoria's Secret model Shanina Shaik, whom he met while filming the reality TV show "Make Me A Supermodel." And it sounds like Tyson has been busy doing just that:

‘When I found her she was a regular girl. I helped place her with the right people, get her teeth cleaned, her body toned up,’ he says, framing himself as the Henry Higgins of fashion. ‘Everything changed and now everyone wants a piece of her. I hear people say, “You can do better than Tyson.” I’m like, “Really? Really?! I created her!”?’

As the Telegraph notes, Shanina may be less than pleased to learn she was Tyson's fixer-upper. But her boyfriend bills himself as a supermodel with plenty of worldly experience:

'As a supermodel I go with the other supers round the world: Dubai one day, Paris the next. There’s partying. I’ll wake up in a hotel room and there are people all over the floor and I’m like, “Is this really happening?” One time in Miami I woke up in the bathtub.’

Working with female supers continues to be a rush. ‘I play second fiddle to them, but that’s fine. Linda’s great, and Elle, Naomi -- though I’ve seen her dark side. They all like to have fun.’

Must all be research for his role as boyfriend-cum-supermodel instructor. Read more about Tyson at ThisIsLondon.co.uk. Are you a Tyson fan or do you, like the Telegraph, find him to have a "massive ego"?