'I waited over 30 years to be crowned UK pageant queen, I'm chuffed to bits'

A woman who waited over 35 years to be crowned winner of Britain's most prestigious beauty competition has finally won. Laura White was crowned Ms Great Britain Classic in a glittering ceremony before a crowd of cheering supporters at the Athena in Leicester on Friday.

She said: "I feel so pleased, humble and grateful. It's been a long time coming! Finally. Miss Great Britain is the pinnacle of pageantry. If I had been presented with a gold medal at the Olympics, it wouldn't have touched it." The 57-year-old mum-of-two told the Daily Express she had watched the contest as a child in the 1970s and went on to compete in the 1980s. In 1989, she reached the final, but her dream of winning was dashed when she missed out on the crown.

Under the competition's rules at that time, Laura, from Cardiff, had to give up her dream when she married in 1991 and went on to have a son and a daughter. Being a wife, mum and older person back then barred women from taking part.

Laura said: "Times have changed now, thank goodness. It was a very different era. You would turn up in your swimwear and someone would win based on that. That was it. It's completely different now.

"It's a celebration of female empowerment rather than just a beauty contest. It's female-oriented. We're not doing this for the benefit of men - we're sisters doing it for ourselves."

Three categories feature in the modern competition: Miss Great Britain for the 18-30s, Ms Great Britain for contestants up to 45 and Ms Great Britain Classic for the over-45s - a category added in 2021.

There are four competition rounds, including an interview where the finalists share their stories and passions. Friday's final also included swimwear, fashion and evening gown rounds. Laura donned a swimsuit bought from Amazon, a red trouser suit with a Union Jack top she made of sequins and a "gorgeous" gown from Heidi By Design.

Work supporting good causes forms a major part of modern competition, too, with hundreds of thousands of pounds raised for Cancer Research and A-Sisterhood, an organisation that supports women worldwide.

For her part, retired primary school teacher Laura has completed three sponsored abseils and a 10-mile hike in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Laura said her route back to pageantry came when she secretly entered her daughter, Erin, in Miss Teen Great Britain in 2016, which she won. The friendships Laura made with other "pageant mums" drew her back to the point where she decided to try again for the crown that had eluded her all those years ago.

She said: "This can be a difficult time for women of a certain age. I hope this win shows that if I can get up on stage and do my thing, you can get up on stage and do your thing. No one told Tom Jones he had to stop at 50, did they?"

After the glitz, glamour and weeks of preparation for the final, Laura said she was looking forward to getting back home. She said: "I'm not a party animal, I'm a normal 50-something woman. I've got a pile of ironing to do. But I'm thrilled. From 1989 to now, I'm just chuffed to bits."

Ten finalists were vying for the crown, including Maria Rice-Mundy, 55, from Bashley, Hampshire. Maria started modelling when she was 17 and reached the finals of pageants, including Miss Dorset, Miss England, and Miss Hawaiian Tropic, which led to a trip to the Pacific island.

After modelling, Maria co-presented Sale of the Century with Peter Marshall on the then fledgling Sky TV. She also spent two years on Bob Monkhouse's game show, Bob's Your Uncle.

Maria has appeared in pantos opposite Birds of a Feather's Lesley Joseph, Hi-de-Hi! star Ruth Madoc, Bergerac's John Nettles and comedian Bobby Davro. She also worked with the legendary performer Max Bygraves.

Mum-of-three Maria said she hadn't expected in a million years to return to pageants, but encouragement from her daughter led her to apply. "I thought it would be fun to get my sequins out once more," she said.

On how pageants have changed, Maria said judges in the 1980s would look entrants up and down as they twirled on stage. They would check the women had "ideal" measurements between their ankles, knees and thighs.

"Now it's about who you are as a person, your trials, tribulations and aspirations and what you've done for your community. It's not about saving the world or being a perfect size. It's about building women's confidence rather than knocking it down. It's definitely changed a lot," Maria said.

Nurse practitioner, Laura Hopwood, 51, said she started entering pageants to honour her mum, Maureen, who died in 2018 after developing a brain tumour. Her daughter, Georgina, 22, also urged her to give it a go.

Laura lives in Rugby, but was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, where as a child she used to watch Miss World on TV with mum Maureen.

She said: "As a child, I thought I would love to do that. But where I was I felt at the time there was no hope. My mum was my best friend. Her death caused such a huge shift in my life, it made me re-evaluate.

"Everybody has preconceptions that it's catty, but it's not. It's women cheering on women. My husband, Peter, says it's given him back the woman he fell in love with and married. It's given me back my spark."

Laura recalled a pageant where an entrant's grandad burst into tears, telling her: "This is Women's Lib in action."

Along with her fellow finalists, the mum-of-two took part in four rounds in the final, including swimwear, which Laura described as "the most empowering".

"Everybody in the audience knows how hard it is to stand on stage in a swimsuit - I'm a size 18 - to be able to do that takes a lot of guts. The loudest cheers from the room are during the swimsuit round. You can be unashamedly yourself.

"It's not for people to ogle. We're women celebrating who we are. We want to inspire older ladies, not necessarily to take part because it's not for everybody, but to do one thing outside your comfort zone and realise it's never too late to pursue your dreams."

Fellow finalist, Charlie Cobb, 46, from Catherington, Hampshire, enjoyed appearing in 2024's competition so much she went back for more. The foster carer said this year she wanted to highlight the wonderful work carers do.

Charlie said the issue was dear to her heart as she had overcome traumatic challenges in her own childhood. She has also survived breast cancer.

The HR professional said she never expected to reach the 80th anniversary final and pageantry is different to how many remember it.

"Everybody thought it objectified women, but all the girls are phenomenal. I wish I had had their level of confidence and leadership when I was younger," she said.

Charlie added: "Don't get me wrong, we all want the crown - it's gorgeous - but every time you're part of this you feel the best version of yourself. We lift each other up. It's such a confidence booster.

"People might think these are dumb, beautiful women - no - these are strong, fierce, educated and eloquent women."

Helen Scott, 47, from Swindon, Wiltshire, used her position as a finalist to draw attention to the impact of food allergies and to highlight Natasha's Law.

The landmark regulation changed UK food allergen labelling. It is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 after eating a baguette containing hidden sesame seeds, which she was allergic to.

Helen's youngest son, Joseph, 11, was diagnosed with a nut allergy when he was three. The medical typist said: "He's hoping I can make a change and get a Mr Whippy he can eat."

She added: "Pageantry is so addictive. The confidence you get from being part of it is absolutely amazing. Obviously, it's very nice to look pretty and for that to be recognised, but it's the beauty within you that matters most."