I was Miss England and loved the swimwear round – here’s why organisers should bring it back, says Danielle Lloyd
AFTER 13 years off stage, Miss England bosses are considering bringing back the famous bikini round.
In 2010, the competition’s director Angie Beasley scrapped swimwear in a bid to appease feminists and move away from objectifying women.
But 13 years on, she has grown tired of “bowing to the woke brigade” and is holding talks with contestants about whether the popular category should be reinstated.
Here, Miss England 2004 Danielle Lloyd tells The Sun she welcomes the news and says the round should never have been banned in the first place.
I’M thrilled to hear Miss England bosses might be bringing back the fun bikini round.
It should never have been banned.
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You don’t have to be a certain body shape to feel good in a bikini.
After five kids, I feel just as good in one today as I did when I first started competing at 17 years old.
Some “feminists” think the swimwear round objectifies women but those thoughts are misguided.
It’s not just bimbos who want to get their kit off. Lots of us have brains and beauty — look at Dr Bhasha Mukherjee, an NHS doctor who won the title in 2019.
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Most people who criticise the round have never been to a pageant and have no idea how the process can transform you as a person.
Admittedly, when I won Miss England in 2004 it was just skinny girls who competed, but we are living in a body-positive era and women of all shapes and sizes now take part.
If girls don’t want to wear a bikini they can cover up. You can add a sarong or wear a swimsuit if you feel more comfortable.
The judges aren’t even looking at your body — they’re looking at how confident you are and your smile.
Most liberating
And body-shaming works two ways.
As a size eight, I’ve been trolled on social media for sending out the “wrong message” to new mums when I’ve posed more recently in a bikini.
People have said things like, “What impression are you giving to mums by being that thin after giving birth? Do you even eat?”
I’ve got used to the trolling and grown thick skin but it makes me angry. People shouldn’t accuse me of not eating, or over-exercising.
We should be supporting all women if they want to wear a bikini.
I’ve got loose skin after five kids and a large scar on my back but I still love wearing swimwear, and no one is going to make me feel bad.
Looking back, competing in beauty pageants, and the high you’d get from the swimwear round, made me who I am today.
When I started out, I’d been in an abusive relationship with a man who wouldn’t let me wear anything skimpy, so standing up on stage in a bikini was one of the most liberating experiences of my life.
As the spotlights shone down on me and the crowd cheered, I thought: “Wow, I’m finally in control, I’m free.” I’d been with him for three and a half years and he was very abusive.
Then a few days prior to me competing in Miss Liverpool, he tried to run me over in a car and I was covered head to toe in bruises.
He dragged me out of my car in a jealous rage because I had been out with my friends and he wanted to know where I was all the time.
Gave me a voice
As he dragged me out of my car, my foot went on the accelerator and I went under the wheel.
I didn’t want to compete but the make-up artist backstage was so sweet and helped cover up my bruises with heavy make-up. I was crying but the girls rallied around me.
My parents helped me escape this man but I had to have therapy to get over the trauma. My mum wanted me to compete to build my confidence back up.
I didn’t win Miss Liverpool, as I had zero confidence. But with every competition I did, and every bikini I put on, my confidence grew and I won Miss England in 2004.
It was one of the best moments of my life and I’ll never forget how empowered I felt as I sashayed down the catwalk in my white bikini. I was beaming from head to toe and all the judges could see what a journey I’d been on and how I’d transformed as a person.
On stage, I spoke about being in two abusive relationships and how I was campaigning for women’s rights.
I was blown away by the support I received, and after the competition girls came up to me and said I’d shown them that they don’t need to put up with that behaviour.
Being on the stage gave me a voice and helped other women.
It’s a shame that all feminists wanted to concentrate on was the swimwear round.
Why was our charity work never mentioned?
If my daughter wants to compete when she’s older, I’ll support her.
I’m glad that the bikini round is back.
Women are tired of being told what to do with our bodies.
People need to butt out and let us decide.
Champ Kat's u-turn
MISS England 2009 Kat Hodge, 36, says she “killed pageants” when she successfully campaigned to ban the contest’s swimwear round.
The mum of two and former soldier now regrets her decision.
She says: “At Miss World 2009 I was handed a bikini to wear which didn’t fit. It was nerve-racking. I started to feel the swimwear round should be a choice.
“I also felt a lot of pressure from feminists blasting the contest as ‘demeaning’. Later that year I campaigned to have the category banned from Miss England. I thought it would encourage women of all shapes and sizes and religions to enter.
“I was successful and the bikini element was removed from both Miss England and Miss World.
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“But 12 years later I competed in Ms Great Britain 2021. I was 5st heavier and covered in stretch marks, but to my surprise I felt the best on stage in my swimwear. Truth is, pageants are a little boring without them.
“The contestants should have the choice. That’s true female empowerment.”