Assurance helps Emily win crown

Emily Ballard beat 19 contestants in the national Miss Natural Curves competition on April 30, securing a chance to compete for the title Miss England on July 18 and 19.

The dance teacher, a runner up in Miss Natural Curves last year, puts her success this year down to a year’s experience, including completing her photography degree at Northampton University.

She said: “I was shocked because I met all the other girls, but I did feel a bit more confident this year. It’s amazing what you can achieve in a year. It’s an honour to be able to go.”

A Miss Leamington and Warwick in 2009, she admits to having been bitten by the beauty pageant bug, but makes clear she prefers contests which promote the idea of real women.

She praised former Miss England Kat Hodges for having done away with “meat market” swimsuit rounds and replaced them with sportswear rounds.

This enabled Emily to wear the dance costume in which she performed at the Royal Albert Hall with her dance school’s Mardi Gras team.

She believes competitions such as Miss Natural Curves promote a more realistic view of women than that seen on catwalks and in traditional beauty pageants.

She said: “I particularly love the heat because of what it represents. It’s time size 12 plus girls were recognised by the fashion industry. It’s crazy that modelling agencies consider that as too big.”

“There’s always going to be sexism but as long as the competition is doing all it can to portray women in the best way possible, which is to show intelligent, confident women, it’s OK.”

For this self-avowed champion of intelligent, confident women, Miss England has only one drawback - the final will be on the same day as her university graduation.