Geek Castoffs Put Up Their Dukes

Who wasn't sad to see Bill Lambing and Lauren Bergfeld booted off Beauty and the Geek last week? "Lingerie model" Lauren's running commentary was always good for laughs. And Bill, who's vice president of a Dukes of Hazzard fan club, made the most impressive transformation after his makeover. When TVGuide.com reached them on the phone, she was becoming blonder at a Beverly Hills salon, while he was fulfilling his official Dukes duties at an Atlanta Hooters restaurant. Thankfully, it seems life on Ashton Kutcher's WB show — airing tonight at 8 pm/ET — hasn't changed them a bit.

TVGuide.com: You both had pretty interesting titles on the show. What are your real occupations?
Lauren Bergfeld: I am definitely not a lingerie model! I did play in the Lingerie Bowl last year. I'm like 5-foot-3 — the most girl-next-door girl you'll ever see — no boobs. I do acting and hosting. I want to get into some type of sports [TV show] hosting.
Bill Lambing: If you want to get technical, it's "vice president of the North American General Lee fan club." We just did a Daisy Duke look-alike contest here in Atlanta. I'm a civil engineer and an Eagle Scout. If that classifies me as the overall geek, then so be it. But hey, it's worth it if you get on TV. Who else has met their Hollywood heroes? I've met just about everybody in the [original Dukes] cast. And now my childhood heroes recognize me on TV.

TVG: Back in the first episode, Lauren, you said you thought you had an IQ of 500. Have you heard a lot about that gaffe since then?
Lauren: After every episode, I get about 78 text messages that repeat the exact same dumb things that I said in the episode. I don't think my friends realize how dumb I actually am.

TVG: You think you're dumb?
Bill: Lauren's a really intelligent girl.
Lauren: I'd rather call them "blonde moments."
Bill: Now [with my highlights] I can have blonde moments, too!

TVG: You had quite an intellectual victory in the clothes-shopping math challenge. What was your strategy?
Lauren: If there's one thing I do know how to do, it's shop. Math like that is easy in my head. I never balance my credit card or checkbook, but I do it in my head so I know how much more I can shop.

TVG: What did you do to make Bill over?
Lauren: I just started from what I would like to see in a guy. I wanted to see Bill look a little more Hollywood, take him out of the Midwest a little bit, give him highlights, make his hair spiky. No one knows this, but I made him use my self-tanner when he was getting dressed.
Bill: Quiet! Don't let them know that!
Lauren: A few little touches and he looked amazing. I was very proud of the way he looked.
Bill: I'm turning colors right now. I felt really good.
Lauren: I swear to god, he was so hot, I would probably even date him.

TVG: Were you good roommates for each other?
Lauren: Oh my god, he made my bed every morning. That was a good thing! He picked up my things and cleaned the bathroom.
Bill: She's making that up!
Lauren: And he was the greatest alarm clock. He'd sit on my bed and wake me up very nicely.

TVG: Lauren, how was your date with Richard? What's he really like?
Lauren: It's definitely a love-hate relationship with him. I love the kid to death, but at the same time, I want to strangle him. He's the most annoying person I've ever met on this earth. Then again, you want to just hug him because he's so little and dorky. At the end of the day, I just don't know if there's any hope for him!

No, I'm just kidding; I love him and I think he's a great guy. I think if he wants to learn, he could learn, but I don't think he wants to change. I think he likes the way he is. We flew to New York together to promote the show, and the only place Richard and I could eat out together was TGI Friday's. He had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and green tea for three days straight!

TVG: What happened in the phone-number challenge?
Bill: I didn't even know that Chuck used some kind of gay routine.
Lauren: That really made me mad. The guys were supposed to use their new looks to get the girls' numbers. Not that I don't love gay people, but it was cheating! When there's $250,000 at stake, that makes me even more mad. It was smart of him to use it, but at least we didn't cheat. Bill got the most numbers on his own, and he looked the hottest.

TVG: Were you brave enough to get girls' numbers before the show?
Bill: When I'm interested in a girl, I have a tough time asking for her number. I could talk to any girl if I'm not really interested. Or I end up talking to them and become too much of a friend, so they don't want to go out. I like to hang out and get a feel for them first, not go out on a first date and be awkward the whole time.

TVG: Did the show change that?
Bill: I think it has. I'm sitting at the Hooters [where] we did the Daisy Duke contest, and one of the girls is here. I talked to her and said, "Hey, I'm still hanging out here for a couple of days." And she's like, "All right, here's my number, but I know you won't call." I've been trying, but I have her home number, not her cell. That's technically the first one.
Lauren: Dude, that's cool. He got a Hooters Girl's number!

TVG: What else are you taking away from this experience?
Bill: I know that you wear brown shoes with a brown belt and black shoes with a black belt. [I also learned] I sometimes would judge a book by its cover.

TVG: Lauren, you seemed resistant to your tasks on the show.
Lauren: I'm not a big studier. I don't read books; I read [supermarket tabloids]. With that much money at stake, I wish I would have taken [the studying] a little bit more seriously.

TVG: What's next for you?
Bill: I'll fly back to California for the reunion show, come home and, hopefully, my boss will let me keep my job!
Lauren: I've been auditioning a lot, and my managers have a couple of deals they're working on. I'm definitely getting into hosting, doing E!, MTV, VH1 stuff.
Bill: Lauren will go far with it. I know that. She's determined.
Lauren: Thank you, Bill. And honestly, any girl would be lucky, lucky, lucky to date Bill. This guy would make the perfect husband. His parents raised him well.

TVG: Aww...