Thursday night... Bhasha wins Miss England Friday morning... she starts job as junior doctor
THE new Miss England spent her first day as a junior doctor yesterday – having caught a 4am train after winning the night before.
Bhasha Mukherjee, 23, who speaks five languages and has an IQ of 146, swapped her sash for scrubs having completed a degree in medicine and surgery at the University of Nottingham.
‘Some people might think pageant girls are airheads, but we all stand for a cause,’ she said.
‘We’re all trying to showcase that just because we’re pretty, it doesn’t end there – we’re actually trying to use our reach and influence to do something good.
‘My pageant career started while I was at medical school. I did it to balance out my studying and give me a break.’
The beauty queen was born in India and moved to the UK aged nine. Her family settled in Derby.
Fluent in English, Bengali, Hindi, German and French, she got A grades in biology, chemistry and maths at A-level, and also holds a degree in medical sciences. ‘I was always the teacher’s pet,’ she said. ‘I was the top of my school with GCSEs.’ She has also set up a charity, The Generation Bridge Project, to cut isolation among the elderly.
She was crowned Miss England at the pageant’s final in Newcastle – then raced to her new job in Boston, Lincolnshire. Before the result was announced, she said: ‘My nerves are really high at the moment, and I have to catch a 4am train after the final to make my induction day.’
The contest featured a makeup-free round for the first time. Organiser Angie Beasley said: ‘I see so many contestants with a face full of makeup covering their natural beauty.
‘Fake eyelashes and brows... there really is no need for this to enter our contest.’
Miss Mukherjee was among those to pose bare-faced. As Miss England she wins a holiday to Mauritius – and entry to the Miss World competition.