Sam Ball and Dean Wells dropped from local Miss World Australia judging panel

The sun is setting fast on the tenuous celebrity of reality TV show stars with a beauty pageant boss sacking two MAFS contestants from the judging panel of the local pageant after discovering their past. One former winner has now come out saying they’re making a “mockery” of the competition.

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The sun is setting fast on the tenuous celebrity of reality TV show stars with a beauty pageant boss sacking two MAFS contestants from the judging panel of the local Miss World pageant.

Married At First Sight cheater Sam Ball and bad boy Dean Wells were dropped from the panel after Confidential queried their credentials for judging one of the most established and long-running beauty pageants in the world.

Former MAFS star Dean Wells had been asked to judge a local Miss World pageant but was dropped after Confidential questioned their credentials. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

Sam Ball was also ditched after the director of the pageant discovered his past. Picture: Nigel Wright

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Miss World organiser Deborah Miller was left gobsmacked when Confidential asked if the reality TV show cheaters were a good fit for her aspirational competition and whether she thought they had the ability to judge fine character.

“We have cancelled Sam and Dean,” Miller said on Saturday.

“But we do have reality TV stars on the panel because our public audience like to meet them and take photos, so it is fun for them too.

“We didn’t know about Sam Ball (and his past) but we found out so we aren’t using him anymore. And Dean Wells has been on a television show so he is a celebrity, that’s why we had asked him.”

The judging panel of the local pageant with judges Gabrielle Bartlett from MAFS, Anthony Nasso from Alfaparf Milano, Eden Dally from Love Island and National Director of Miss World Australia Deborah Miller.

Miss World is the largest and longest running international beauty pageant after having been launched in 1951, however contestants including 2013 winner Erin Holland believe enlisting reality TV stars as judges makes a mockery of the competition.

“When I was competing, all the judges were in the industry,” Holland said.

Former Miss World Australia Erin Holland said judges appointed should know about pageants or be in the industry. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

“They were people who sat on the board of the organisation and the major sponsors and also the past winner.

“I think for any competition to be deemed fair you should always have people judging who come from a pageant background or have experience on the national stage who know what they are looking for.

“These competitions are actually al lot more involved than people think. In particular, Miss World has a talent component and an interview component and a philanthropy component and unless you are someone who has been through it or is a part of that world, we want Australia to do well so we should want to pick the best possible candidate.

“If I was competing I would feel much more comfortable knowing the people who were judging me were from that world.”

Originally published as Sam Ball and Dean Wells dropped from local Miss World Australia judging panel