BIKINI-clad contestants from across the country including Miss England hopefuls battled it out on the catwalk on Sunday night, during the launch of the Essence Style and Beauty Awards in Tavistock — but it was a local girl in a wetsuit who won the audience vote!
Ellie Hilton, 21, from Tavistock, was voted the overall winner after a judging panel had selected their favourites in the style, elegance and attitude categories at Tavistock Town Hall. Around 200 people came to watch the show.
But whilst Ellie's fellow contestants in the attitude category were wearing bikinis — it was the beachwear section — she decided to wear what she felt most comfortable in, a wetsuit.
'I didn't win the swimwear prize,' she said.
'The other girls thought I had guts to wear a wetsuit, but I thought they had guts to get their bodies out.'
Ellie said modelling was not her scene but she got involved for 'a bit of fun' and because her boss at Jack Chams lounge bar in Tavistock, Ben Neil, was organising it.
'To be honest it was quite embarrassing but I am off to South America next week for three months so I thought why not,' she said.
'I had a couple of drinks beforehand and I couldn't see the audience because of the lights, so that eased my nerves.'
Ellie said it was a complete surprise to win the audience vote but added her table of supporters had the loudest voices so that might have had something to do with it!
She said: 'It was a fun experience and fantastic to win because £400 will give me a month's worth of spending money in South America, b ut I have no aspirations to be a model.'
Ben Neil, who plans to hold events like this around the country to promote his online modelling business UK Hotlist.com said Ellie was a worthy winner because she was 'beautiful and also very modest', but that all the girls 'looked fantastic'.
'It was amazing and I would like to thank all the staff at Jack Chams, the sponsors and the contestants,' he said. 'Without their support the event could not have happened.'