Miss Essex Great Britain

Beauty pageants have been a source of fascination, controversy, and glamour for decades. Yet, as society evolves, so does the world of pageantry. Today’s beauty pageants are breaking free from outdated stereotypes and embracing a broader definition of beauty—one that goes beyond looks and focuses on character, talent, and purpose. In the 21st century, these events are not merely about crowns and sashes; they’re about empowerment, advocacy, and inspiring change.

In this issue, we dive deep into the modern beauty pageant world, speaking with Regional Director for Esses, UK Emily Evans and this year’s winners Miss Lauren Jennings and Ms Essex winner, Rhea Varker.

@minabellaphotography

Pageants today are less about beauty and more about boldness, intelligence, and breaking barriers—showcasing a new generation of role models who represent resilience and diversity. Welcome to the new era of beauty pageants, where the real crown is the impact contestants leave on the world.

The Miss Essex competition was an incredibly popular event in the 1980s and 1990s.

Sponsored by the Echo newspaper, the contest had a series of heats before finalists showed off their talents in front of a live audience and a panel of judges.

The winners of the hotly anticipated contest would take on a year of schmoozing and ribbon cutting as they attended countless events across the county.

The contest was held at a range of different locations, including Cliffs Pavilion and nightclubs which no longer exist.

Fast forward to 2024 and the future of pageants is assured with a new and outlook. Winning now is more about becoming an ambassador for your region and for women than just wearing a sash and opening the latest car showroom and the regional Miss Essex winners are certainly leading the way, having recently entered the overall Miss Great Britain contest which has helped launch the career of many well-known names including: Miss GB 1957 Leila Williams (Blue Peter presenter), Miss GB 1976 Dinah May (actress),  Miss GB 1984 Debbie Greenwood (TV presenter), Miss GB 2006 Danielle Lloyd (Model, TV Personality) and Miss GB 2007 Preeti Desai (Model, film actress).

The modern-day Miss Great Britain competition has been built upon an extensive history of successful pageants and has helped launch the careers of many women who entered.

Our editor, James W Phillips is a judge for Miss Essex, and caught up with Emily and winners Lauren and Rhea to find out more, and what the competition means to them.

Emily Evans. Photography: @cutter_creatives

Lovely to see you again Emily, what are the key qualities or values you look for in a Miss Essex titleholder, and how do they reflect the mission of the pageant?

The key qualities I’m looking for in a Miss Essex are professionalism, confidence and compassion. It’s really important to uphold the values of Miss Great Britain and Miss Essex in all that you do, remembering you are also representing a historic and well-established brand. Compassion is incredibly important as you will be meeting a variety of different members of the public when conducting your duties, and beauty is only skin deep. At Miss Essex we pride ourselves on our queens being beautiful on the inside too!

How has the Miss Essex Beauty Pageant evolved over the years, and what changes have you implemented to keep it relevant?

At Miss Essex, we pride ourselves on bringing together a community of like-minded women as a force for good. Our focus is always about what we can give back and the positive change we can bring, as well as who we can empower along the way. The competition has various rounds and none of those are solely based on how you look. My favourite round at Miss Essex is the Inspirational Award, awarded to the finalist who has the most inspirational story and who can empower others.

What is the most rewarding part of being the regional director, and what challenges do you face in organising the pageant?

Seeing the finalists backstage on the night of the final, knowing that I’ve watched their journey from the very beginning/application process. Watching women improve their confidence over time, embrace their fears, make new friends and memories. It’s an incredibly rewarding position to be in!

The biggest challenge I face is the same as the contestant’s face, prejudice and judgement from individuals that have a very outdated perception of modern day pageantry.

The Judges! Nicoll Moss, James W Phillips, Larissa Hirst and Amber Hood. Photography: @minabellaphotography

How do you ensure that the pageant remains an empowering experience for the contestants, beyond just physical beauty?

 Ahead of the competition, we include a confidence workshop which was incredibly successful last year. We also make sure we award multiple areas of competition such as Charity, Publicity and Interview. We celebrate that our Essex women are multi-faceted – and beautiful on the inside! My most important work as Director is to make sure EVERY finalist feels like they’ve won.

What future goals or initiatives do you have for the Miss Essex Beauty Pageant, and how do you envision it impacting the local community?

My hopes for the Miss Essex competition going forward are that we continue our work with our local elderly care home and other thriving community work, as well as our tireless efforts fundraising for Cancer Research (the Miss GB total this year raised an incredible £100,000!). I would love to work with local Essex businesses to broaden our network even further.

Welcome Lauren, great to see you again! You’re certainly a worthy winner!

Lauren Jennings. Photography: @cutter_creatives

What inspired you to participate in the Miss Essex Beauty Pageant, and how has the experience shaped your personal growth?

I knew of pageants through friends that had competed and understood that pageants were a space where you can use your voice to advocate for a cause that you’re passionate about. After being diagnosed with ADHD in my mid-twenties I wanted to help other late-diagnosed neurodivergent individuals know that they are not alone, where and how to gain support, as well as showing that we can achieve anything that we set our hearts and minds to. I am very fortunate to have represented my beautiful hometown of Essex and the neurodivergent community on the Miss Great Britain stage, after two attempts at the Miss Essex regional heat over the space of a year. This experience has shaped me into becoming a woman who wholeheartedly believes in herself.

What was the most challenging part of preparing for the pageant, and how did you overcome it?

Since March this year I have completed over 80 appearances including running a half marathon and being a part of the world’s largest ADHD conference! Every appearance has meant something to me. The hardest part of the competition was making sure I could talk about all of my work within the two-minute interview timeframe! The interview is like a celebration of the work that’s been achieved leading up to the finals and is something that I really enjoy.

As the winner of Miss Essex, what message or cause do you hope to promote during your reign?

As Miss Essex 2024, I want other neurodivergent people from the current generation and those to follow, to be heard, seen, accepted and supported. I have masked my whole life and since being open about my personal journey, I’ve realised that many other neurodivergent individuals do this too, which is why I created my own series called ‘Behind The Mask’, to show that even though we may have the same labels, our life experiences are all unique and our ways of masking may be different; but overall to show that being our most authentic self is something to be championed.

How do you plan to use this platform to inspire others in your community?

I am a Lead Ambassador for the charity ADHD UK and regularly hold talks in colleges and local government settings about reasonable adjustments available to those with hidden disabilities. As not everyone is aware of what adjustments are available, I explain these adjustments and promote the fact that they are there to provide equal chances. I hold my own neurodiversity coffee mornings and will soon be holding my own ADHD support groups, which is something I look forward to promoting as these spaces are available not just to those with ADHD, but also to those who love someone with ADHD, who want to learn more about neurodiversity and celebrate different ways of thinking.

I also love to spend time within the community, I have attended many community events as well as hosting my own. I look forward to continuing this!

What advice would you give to young women who aspire to compete in beauty pageants or pursue similar goals?

When I first entered the world of pageantry, I thought it would grow my confidence and I would make amazing friends, which are two things I have definitely gained, but I have also found a friend in myself through this process. I have learned to believe in myself no matter what!

Pageants are a space where individuals can make strides for causes, they are passionate about, and I made a choice last year, to take a chance and make change for the ADHD & Neurodivergent community. I can 100% say I have never looked back.

One voice at the right pitch can create an avalanche. Go and be that voice!

Thank you so much Lauren, welcome Rhea! Congratulations on your title! I am so pleased you won!

Rhea Varker. Photography: @cutter_creatives

What inspired you to participate in the Miss Essex Beauty Pageant, and how has the experience shaped your personal growth?

Taking part in Miss Great Britain Essex has been an amazing and exhilarating experience, giving me the chance to step back into myself. A thing I never thought possible. It was a very close friend that encouraged me to enter as the stage has always been a huge part of my life. Being on the pageant stage I got to be ME again, not mum, not business owner not a person that has been through struggles. 

For me being able to offer my knowledge to others making them feel comfortable and confident is a big part of my journey in life and I love that I can do that again, which in turn has boosted my personal growth and wellbeing.

What was the most challenging part of preparing for the pageant, and how did you overcome it?

For me the most challenging part would be condensing everything I wanted to say so it would fit into the 2-minute interview. Making sure to give my background, my advocacy and my future plans of what I want to achieve equal time without missing key points. I have spent many years public speaking but knowing you’re on a time limit changes that pressure. To overcome this, I made sure that I knew key events that I wanted to bring up and picked a couple of main points for each event. Some people would find it easier to practice a speech but for me going in and talking as my authentic self I knew would work best. Knowing that trusting my gut even though it may have been…

As the winner of Ms Essex, what message or cause do you hope to promote during your reign? 

I’m a huge advocate for Scouting, which is the cause I have promoted throughout my pageant journey. Scouting is a charity-based organisation that not only gives you skills and knowledge, it gives you a huge sense of purpose. Giving children the opportunity to try new challenges and getting them to start celebrating themselves as well as learning about who they are and how they can make a huge difference. It is wonderful to be able to show each generation that being part of your local area is amazing and for them to get a sense of belonging to a world-wide family. It’s one of the few organisations that show children no matter who you are or what skill level you have.

How do you plan to use this platform to inspire others in your local community?

I plan to use the Ms Great Britain Essex title show that the best way to be, is to be yourself. Also to help bring my advocacy to more people, children and adults alike. All the leaders are volunteers and give the children experiences and life skills that they may not get from home. Scouting is such a community-based organisation with events like bag packing at local shops, singing at homes for the elderly and planting flowers in the local area. So, the more people we can get involved the better, with more adults becoming leaders the more children we can help have great experiences locally and internationally. In turn I hope this inspires more people to be confident in who they a…

What advice would you give to young women who aspire to compete in beauty pageants or pursue similar goals?

For me Miss Great Britain is more than a pageant it’s a way of life, it’s knowing you have the ability to help shape the future. Giving others the confidence to be exactly who they are and to let them know what they can achieve, no matter where they come from, the start they have or the challenge they have faced along the way. Taking that first step to partake in a pageant will be a feeling like no other, being in a room where empowerment of being your authentic self is celebrated. My advice is that you can achieve amazing things and that your weaknesses can build you up to be just as powerful as your strengths.

It is such an honour and privilege to be crown!

Photography: @cutter_creatives

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