Young journalist sent to cover beauty pageant ends up winning the crown
LAUREN Gooderham was sent to report on a beauty pageant in her local town in England, but instead she walked away with much more than a story.
IT WAS an unimaginable turn of events when journalist Laura Gooderham ended up winning the beauty pageant she was sent to cover.
Gooderham, 24, originally attended the auditions of the 2017 Miss Grimsby pageant as a reporter for the Grimsby Telegraph.
While there, Millie Margetts spotted her making notes and taking photos.
Margetts, 21, a three-time winner of the local beauty contest and reigning champion, approached Gooderham and asked why she wasn’t competing herself.
Although unsure at first, Gooderham began to warm to the idea after learning the contest raised money for charities Beauty With A Purpose and Andy’s at St Andrew’s Hospice.
She excelled in the auditions and was eventually crowned the overall winner, meaning she’ll take part in the upcoming Miss England contest.
Margetts described Gooderham’s “likeable girl-next-door” image as “what Miss England is all about.”
“It’s not about getting plastered in make-up, it’s about showing who you really are,” she said.
Gooderham was close to tears when she won and told the Grimsby Telegraph, “I want to congratulate all the other girls. They have been brilliant.
“I have some big shoes to fill following in Millie’s footsteps.”
Grimsby is a town of nearly 90,000 people which is 320km north of London. It was voted the worst place to live in England in 2016, according to the Grimsby Telegraph.
Gooderham was named Miss Great Grimsby and District alongside Ben Toyne, 23, who earned the title of Mr Grimsby at the event in the Lincolnshire town.
Gooderham only graduated from Lincoln University in 2016 and a week later began reporting at the Grimsby Telegraph, where she had previously impressed during an internship.
“I’m nervous and excited and it’s going to be for me a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” she exclaimed.
Gooderham’s story comes as a beauty queen who was formerly called an “ugly thin bitch” by bullies, won a Miss England heat in this stunning wooden dress.
This article originally appeared on The Sun.
