Local woman through to semi-finals of Miss England competition

Nicola Smith only entered 'for a laugh' - now she has a serious chance of winning

By Charlotte Turner Senior Reporter   10:54, 4 APR 2019

A local woman is in the running to become the next Miss England after securing a place in this year's semi-finals.

Nicola Smith, who lives in Millbrook on the Rame Peninsula near Plymouth, was chosen by judges in the competition to fly through to the South West semi-finals which will be held in Bristol in June.

The 24-year-old is up against two others in the regional semis - 16-year-old student Maisie and 20-year-old student Tamsin.

Nicola, who is now teaching English in Italy, admits she initially signed up for a laugh when her friends encouraged her to do so.

On finding out she was through to the next heat of the competition, she said: "I'm really shocked because I only entered for a bit of a laugh and to get this far it's like, 'wow'. At the same time it's good to be raiding money and say that I've done it.

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"My aunty was Miss Dundee back in the 80s - maybe [beauty pageant queens] run in the family."

Nicola has been sponsored by Liskeard based construction company Steve Hoskin Construction and in light of TV reality star Mike Thalassitis's death, she is now fundraising for suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS.

The charity element is optional, but Nicola set herself the goal of raising £1,000.

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/local-news/local-woman-through-semi-finals-2717125