McNaught Fills In For Hawkins

She has made a buck as Australia's back-up beauty queen, but yesterday Erin McNaught managed to trump Jennifer Hawkins in the Myer spotlight. While Hawkins was expected to announce a new two-year deal as the fashion face of the retailer next month, McNaught stepped into her shoes - for a day - as part of the store's latest national clearance sales campaign.

And keeping up to her McNaughty name, the new Channel 10 presenter showed off what she's got as a model, stripping down to her knickers during the intimates in-store appearance in Brisbane yesterday.

But quick to keep Hawkins happy, Myer executives confirmed an announcement was imminent about their star signing, who sent their sales registers into overdrive last year when she fronted as their fashion ambassador for the first time.

"Jennifer is still under contract with us at this stage, but we'll have more to say in two weeks on a new deal," a spokeswoman told Confidential, after we questioned McNaught's apparent grass-cutting appearance yesterday.

Hawkins will appear in Myer's autumn/winter catalogue, which was shot late last year and is expected to take to the catwalk again for the store's season launch in February.

Not suprisingly McNaught's model management were talking up her talents as fill-in for the Myer job. The store said it had "no plans to use Erin again."