I couldn’t enter Miss England – so I set up my own contest
AFORMER X Factor finalist, who was denied the chance at competing in the Miss England competition, has hit back at the beauty contest – in the best way she can.
Maria Ellinas, who lives in Ormskirk, was an X Factor finalist in Simon Cowell’s group in 2014 and has also worked with global artists such as Kanye West and will.i.am.
She was frustrated at the competition because of rules stopping those who are married or mothers taking part.
Now the 30-year-old has set up her own national beauty competition after becoming angry with the way Miss England was run.
Maria said that she gave birth to her child nine years ago.
She then appeared on the ITV singing talent show after previously securing a place to compete in the regional heats of Miss England.
She said: “I was so excited when I went for it but I later found out you couldn’t take part if you had children or were married.
“I didn’t understand, because this should not be seen as a negative thing.
“It is crazy because it should be an opportunity for everyone to better themselves.”
Following this setback, Maria went on to compete in the Miss Great Britain pageant – which allows contestants to take part if they have children – and was placed as a runnerup.
After doing so well, the singer said she wanted to go back and try for the crown once again but was stopped – this time due to an upper age limit on the competition.
At this point, she got into the organisation side of the Miss England events, running the Miss Liverpool contest before being inspired to set up her own competition – Miss Model UK.
Maria said: “It will be an annual national pageant and the first final will take place in The Shankly Hotel in June next year, following a series of regional heats across the country.
“There’s an optional talent round which competitors can choose to do instead of the swimwear because I know there are so many talented people around.
“It’s all about giving people an opportunity.”
She said the winner will be given a prize package worth £2,000 and a modelling and casting contract with an agency.
One of the most important points for Maria was to make sure that anybody who was interested should be able to take part, so there were no limits placed on hopefuls for the competition.
She said: “I think it will be a good opportunity for anyone.
“There will be a celebrity judging panel, I don’t want to give away who it is too soon, but it will be people to get excited about. Also, people from the industry will be in there, too.”
Maria added that every year she sets up a talent night for the X Factor where she gathers together groups of hopeful musicians and invites down producers from the show, and even recording studios, to allow them to scout for talented future stars.
She said: “I’ve been invited back to the show myself and I’m hoping to go back on the X Factor in the future when I’m ready, but life is taking me down a different route at the moment and I like to focus fully on one thing at a time.”
Back in 2014, Miss England director Angie Beasley explained the rules for excluding mums from the beauty contest.
She told the HuffPost: “They are many competitions that are aimed at a certain sex, age group or other demographic.
“There are competitions where you have to be a mum. There are competitions where you have to be an adult over 18, over 25, or over 65 & children’s competitions.
“If you are aged 17-25, not married and do not have kids, then you can enter Miss England with the many opportunities that it offers for young ladies that are eligible to enter. You must be a role model for your generation, of good character and free and unfettered to enter into an exclusive agreement with Miss World Limited.
“Men cannot enter. Mums cannot enter. Married women cannot enter. Women under 17 (on the date of the Miss World final) cannot enter. Women over 25 cannot enter.”