From a Love Islander to TV star wag and Paula Yates’ mum – how 70 years of Miss Blackpool made its winners into stars
AS the sun sets over Blackpool’s famous tower, the seaside town is gearing up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its historic beauty contest.
Originally a modest local event, Miss Blackpool has forged forward to become a cornerstone of the UK’s beauty pageant scene.
Notable past winners include the late TV presenter Paula Yates’s mother, Elaine Smith, Wag Tanya Bardsley and Love Island’s Kendall Rae Knight — demonstrating that the competition can open doors to bigger opportunities.
Organiser Karen Jean Cookson hopes this year’s event will be no different — with fame and fortune just around the corner for the latest bunch of hopefuls.
Karen, a former winner who also owns Angels Elite Models, said: “It is a fabulous competition, which has given so many girls opportunities over the years.
“Lots of girls never modelled or danced before entering and it has given them so much confidence and friendships for life.
“It will also bring the glitz and glamour to Blackpool for the 70th anniversary.”
‘A place to gain confidence and grow’
Pageant historian Sally-Ann Fawcett says the competition has always pulled in famous judges.
“Miss Blackpool has always been, unapologetically, a bathing beauty contest, with minimal emphasis on interviews,” she explains.
“The big theatre, comedy and pop stars of the day would judge — from comics Les Dawson and Bob Monkhouse to Morecambe & Wise and singers The Nolans — and until 1999 the winner would qualify for the final of Miss United Kingdom, which led to Miss World.”
The competition hasn’t taken place since 2019 due to Covid and personal challenges preventing Karen — who has been involved in organising the event since winning it in 1995 — and her husband Neil from being able to dedicate the time needed.
But for its 70th anniversary they have pulled out all the stops, promising a night to remember.
Karen continues: “Some people think beauty pageants are old-fashioned, but they’re not. They’re modern and young and give so much back.
“It’s not just about how you look, it’s your personality too. It’s quite a weird thing but there’s always one girl who stands out.
“You can see how hard they’ve worked at it and they really shine on the day.
“For the quieter ones it gives them a place where they can gain confidence and grow.
“Tanya Bardsley was such a shy girl when she first entered, and look at her now. She’s amazing and has the world at her feet.”
First held in 1954, Miss Blackpool emerged during the post-war boom in beauty pageants.
It was organised by the Blackpool Corporation to find a representative from the holiday hotspot for a TV show in London.
It was held at the South Shore Baths open-air pool and saw celebrity judges Terry-Thomas, Jimmy Edwards and Marianne Lincoln crown Elaine Smith the winner.
No one could have predicted the decades-long media frenzy that would follow the then 20-year-old student.
Elaine walked away with a modest £20 cash prize, but it was her life away from the competition which kept her in the public eye.
In April 1959 she gave birth to future TV personality Paula Yates, who tragically passed away from a heroin overdose in 2000, aged 41.
Paula, a gossip column fixture, made headlines in 1997 when it was revealed that her biological father was not BBC star Jess Yates but ITV’s Opportunity Knocks host Hughie Green.
Other notable winners include Leila Williams, who after being crowned Miss Blackpool in 1956, and Miss Great Britain in 1957, went on to present the very first episode of kids’ show Blue Peter with Christopher Trace in October 1958.
Went on to find fame
She worked on the BBC’s flagship children’s programme until 1962, and also had small roles in 1960 films Watch Your Stern and Marriage Of Convenience.
Ann Dunsford represented Blackpool in the Miss United Kingdom over two consecutive years. She was runner-up in 1974, but took winner Sheila Mitchell’s place at the national contest when Sheila became unwell.
Four Miss Blackpool winners were crowned Miss United Kingdom and went on to compete in Miss World
A year later, Ann won the Miss Blackpool trophy in her own right. Gillian Clark won the competition in 1976 and went on to find fame as a member of television dance troupe Legs & Co, who performed every week on must-watch music show Top Of The Pops.
Susan Hempel was crowned Miss Blackpool in 1977 and later Miss Great Britain. Exactly 30 years later her niece, Sally Hempel, won the Lancashire competition.
When 16-year-old Linzi Butler became the youngest-ever Miss Blackpool in 1982 she was barred from competing in Miss United Kingdom because she didn’t meet its minimum-age requirement.
This didn’t perturb Linzi, and she bounced back to be crowned Miss Great Britain in 1986.
In a remarkable turn of events, Miss Blackpool 1984, Vicky Ellis, returned to the pageant scene an astonishing 39 years later to win the Miss Exquisite World Elegance title — one of the longest gaps between pageant wins in history.
Four Miss Blackpool winners were crowned Miss United Kingdom and went on to compete in Miss World: Anne Thelwell (1959), Helen Upton (1990), Claire Smith (1992) and Vicki-Lee Walberg (1997).
Claire achieved Blackpool’s best-ever result at Miss World by finishing as first runner-up.
Tanya Bardsley, best known for appearing on ITVBe reality show The Real Housewives Of Cheshire, won Miss Blackpool in 2002 before meeting her husband, former Sunderland and Stoke footballer Phil Bardsley.
‘Public speaking, talent and interviews’
Tanya, a businesswoman and one of the reality show’s original cast, left in 2021 after seven years.
Fellow reality star Kendall Rae Knight, who appeared on Love Island in 2018, was crowned Miss Blackpool five years earlier. She also won Miss North West and was a Miss England finalist in 2015.
The 31-year-old influencer, who comes from a beauty queen family — with her mother, aunties and cousins all having won titles — recently gave birth to her first child.
The Miss Blackpool winner is handed the same silver trophy that has been in use since the start of the pageant.
But while this has remained a constant, the contest has modernised to reflect broader social changes.
Throughout the Sixties and Seventies a greater emphasis was placed on contestants’ personalities, intelligence and community involvement, rather than just their looks.
This trend continued into the next decades, when it began to highlight the diverse talents of the contestants, with rounds including public speaking, talent perform-ances and interviews.
More recently, contestants have been questioned on their achievements, aspirations and ability to be a positive role model. This year’s Miss Blackpool competition will include the classic swimwear and evening wear rounds, along with a jeans and T-shirt segment.
Karen is keen for girls to try to reach the final, which will be held on November 22 at the Woodland Suite at Ribby Hall Village
Adding a fun and dynamic start to the event, hopefuls will participate in a dance routine.
Entrants must be under 35, and due to a recent rule change by the Miss Universe Organisation, they can have children and be married.
But this decision remains controversial. Miss World, for instance, still prohibits married women, mothers, or contestants over 27.
Its CEO Julia Morley maintains that a year of worldwide travel is best suited for those without such commitments. Miss Blackpool 2024 will be hosted by dancer and singer Rio Cookson and 2019 winner Brittany Feeney, from Liverpool.
Karen is keen for girls to try to reach the final, which will be held on November 22 at the Woodland Suite at Ribby Hall Village, near Blackpool. It’s not just a beauty contest,” explains Karen. “It’s also about friendship and confidence.
“I’m still close to lots of the women I competed with and entering pageants allowed me to make contacts that set me up for life.
“I hope this year’s competition does the same for the girls and they use it as a stepping stone to greater things.”
'Joy and unashamed glamour of seaside'
MY VIEW, by Sally-Ann Fawcett pageant historian, judge and author of Misdemeanours: Beauty Queen Scandals . . .
6AS a child growing up in the North it became apparent to me very early on that Miss Blackpool was the queen of the seaside holiday beauty pageants.
Unlike most of the other local contests, Miss Blackpool was originally open to women from anywhere in the UK, and as a result the cream of the crop would travel from far and wide to compete.
Weekly heats held at the South Shore open- air pool, attended by thousands of holidaymakers, would culminate in the grand final in August, when the big names of the day battled for the silver trophy.
One of the intriguing aspects of Miss Blackpool is that not all the big names actually won the title: Ann Sidney, from Poole, finished only second in 1964, yet just a few months later was crowned Miss World.
Welshpool beauty Ann Jones failed to make the top three in Miss Blackpool 1975, but a few years later qualified for the finals of both Miss Universe and Miss World, as well as becoming the only British winner in history to win the Miss Intercontinental crown.
And Dinah May, who went on to become the first bride in TV drama Brookside and later PA to film director Michael Winner, also saw the Miss Blackpool crown eluding her, despite her winning Miss Great Britain 1976.
When Miss UK was abolished in 1999, Miss Blackpool became a stand-alone pageant, and the competition remained fierce, with dozens of women vying for the title. It is now the longest-running seaside beauty contest in the UK, second only to Miss Great Britain in longevity.
Judging the pageant was a dream come true for me.
The silver trophy, first awarded in 1954, is still in use, and this November it will be held aloft by the 70th winner, embodying the joy, excitement, and unashamed glamour of the British 7 seaside’s golden era.