Miss Great Britain

Miss Great Britain is Britain's longest running beauty contest held annually in Britain since 1945.

History[]

Following World War Two, a number of seaside resorts around the United Kingdom introduced beauty contests. The first, held in Morecambe in 1945, went on to become Miss Great Britain.^[1]

The contest began in the Summer of 1945 under the name “Bathing Beauty Queen”, organised by the Morecambe Town Council in partnership with the ‘Sunday Dispatch’ newspaper. Morecambe went on to become the home of Miss Great Britain between 1956 and 1989.^[2]

The first ever Miss Great Britain final was watched by 4,300 people in a continuous downpour. The winner received a cup and according to the local newspaper ‘a paltry prize’ of seven guineas as well as a swimsuit. Prize money increased to £100 the following year, £500 the next and reached £1000 in the fifties due to its popularity. The contest continued to offer the largest prize fund of any competition run by a municipal authority.^[2]

Heats of Miss Great Britain took place in Mecca dance halls. Between 1951 and 1957 the winner of Miss Great Britain qualified for entry in the Miss World contest.^[3]

The sixties saw the beginning of the decline in British seaside holidays with families increasingly able to afford trips abroad. A new competition format was needed and was realised with the introduction of television to Miss Great Britain in 1971. By 1978, the prize fund had increased to £10,000 thanks to the competition’s sponsors, and the popularity of the competition was again on the rise.^[2] The contest was initially televised by Yorkshire Television for ITV and received audience figures in the millions. In 1981 the television rights were bought by the BBC who broadcast it until 1985. Morecambe Town Council put the contest up for sale following the 1989 final and there were no contests held for a number of years.^[3]

Miss Great Britain was first televised in 1970, a Yorkshire Television production for ITV and drew an audience of millions. In 1981 the television rights were bought by the BBC. Jill Saxby, who later married the snooker star Willie Thorne became the last Miss Great Britain to be crowned on television in 1985.

Owner and CEO of Miss Great Britain, Mr John Singh made history, crowning his first winner and to this date only the first black Miss Great Britain 1996. Singer and dancer Anita St Rose took the Miss Great Britain crown.

Notable contestants[]

Notable contestants in the Miss Great Britain contest have included:

• Anne Heywood, a film actor during the 1950s–80s, won the title in 1950 under her real name of Violet Pretty.^[3]
• Leila Williams, a presenter of the children's television programme Blue Peter between 1958 to 1962, won the title in 1957.^[3]
• Marti Caine, a comedian, competed in 1961.^[3]
• Nina Carter, a future Page 3 girl, appeared in the 1971 final.^[3]
• Debbie Greenwood, who later became a breakfast television presenter, won the title in 1984.^[3]

2006 event[]

The 2006 title holder was Preeti Desai from North Yorkshire^[4] who made history as the first winner of Indian ethnicity. She had come fifth in the pageant but was selected by a poll of newspaper readers to replace the original winner Danielle Lloyd, who had been stripped of the title following a scandal.^[5][6] Lloyd's title was restored to her some years later^[3] and she is included in the contest's list of previous winners.^[7]

Title holders[]

Archives[]

Archives of Miss Great Britain are held at The Women's Library at the Library of the London School of Economics. Most surviving material is held at Lancashire Archives as part of the Morecambe and Heysham Borough Council collection.

References[]