Vote for Wandsworth woman to become Miss England

Paige Ashton, 26. has made it to the final round of the national beauty pageant and will be competing for the title in August 2021.

After winning Miss Wandsworth in a popularity vote in May, she is preparing for her place as one of 44 finalists.

“I have put a lot of work in over the last 10 months, and it felt recognised,” said Paige.

Paige said she is proud of being a black English Caribbean woman, and wants to be the first black Miss England to represent on the Miss World stage in November for the competition’s 70th year.

Paige Ashton won Miss Popularity

She has embraced her natural afro hair during different appearances, photoshoots and on social media.

“I want black women across England to see someone who can be a representative of them on this stage and to encourage more black women to enter competitions,” she added.

Before the Miss England Final on August 27 there are 10 optional rounds to complete, which Paige is juggling with a full-time job in Sales Operations and Finance.

The Sports, Explore the Nation, Bare Face Top Model, Talent, Plastfree Eco Queen and Flawless Photogenic Round have all already taken place.

Paige made a dress from recycled facemasks for the Plastfree Miss England round

But, for the Plastfree Eco Queen challenge, Paige had to get crafty.

“I actually began thinking about how I would create my dress from last September, so have been collecting face masks since then and also litter picked over 100 face masks on my morning walks”.

Paige’s dress was fully recycled up-cycling her Year 13 prom dress and using face masks to create butterflies and appliqued these onto the dress.

Public voting is now open, where through downloading the Miss England app you get one free vote a day until August and can vote for Paige. You can follow her journey on Instagram at paige_ashton1.