From Yorkshire market town to partying with Rita Ora

Billy Eldridge, 26, has shared the amazing story of his journey from a Pickering B&B to New York with the media.

The model was scouted on the streets of the Big Apple, and has now left his Yorkshire roots behind to party with some of the world's biggest stars.

Billy moved from his birthplace, Brighton, to Pickering when he was five years old following his parents' divorce. His grandparents ran a 12-room hotel which he moved into with his mother Jane and brother Charlie. He described the guesthouse as being 'in the middle of nowhere'.

Billy was a talented basketball player who represented England Under 16, and was offered a scholarship to study at American university Virginia Tech while playing the sport at varsity level.

While holidaying in New York, he was approached by Nole Marin, the host of America's Next Top Model, and offered a contract with agency AIM.

He fronted a campaign for Abercrombie and Fitch and found himself mixing in celebrity circles with the likes of singer Rita Ora and actress Gabrielle Union.

He later returned to the UK to study for a Masters degree in economics at University College London, and now works as a gold trader based in Hong Kong, and also runs a charity which helps to re-home orphaned children in China.