A junior doctor has made it to the final of Miss England after receiving a record number of votes in the qualifying round - despite never having entered a beauty pageant before.
Saskia Fauguel, 27, said she had 'never dreamed' of being a beauty queen but she put herself forward for the famous competition after losing four stone and getting a 'confidence boost'.
Despite having no pageant experience, Saskia recorded a staggering 27,000 votes in the qualifiers in order to fly through to the final, which is a snazzy red carpet event later in the year.
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But she will have to juggle her competition obligations with a high-stress junior doctor role in the NHS, where she is about to begin the six-year process of becoming a psychiatrist.
Saskia, from Todmorden, West Yorkshire, said: "This isn't something I ever dreamed of doing. I have never even entered a pageant before, but I saw the opportunity and thought, 'Why not?'
"I was aware of pageants when I was younger but I never dreamed of being in one myself. I never had the confidence to go for it until now, plus I was focusing on being a doctor.
"Some of the girls will be models and very experienced at doing pageants, which is the total opposite of me, but I don't mind being an underdog. I'm just really excited."
Miss England entrants ordinarily qualify through live heats; however, due to venues being closed because of coronavirus, the process went digital for this year's event.
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Saskia submitted images and videos of herself, including an introduction, a catwalk and a talent video for the judges to watch, before being accepted as a wildcard.
She appeared on an app, along with other entrants, and was stunned to watch on as a whopping 27,000 votes went her way - more than anyone else in Miss England history.
Saskia said: "That number of votes is really overwhelming, I don't really know how it happened. I asked my friends and family to vote for me, so they must have done a really good job."
The medic, who has worked in West Yorkshire since graduating in 2019, says she was 'shy' as a youngster and has struggled with her weight and mental health in the past.
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However, Saskia's fortunes began to turn in November last year when she embarked on a weight loss journey after finding out she had high blood sugar levels.
She said: "I was always happy with how I looked but when I found at my health was at risk I decided to make a change.
"Before I used to eat whatever I wanted - I like sweets and chocolate so I was eating a lot of that and I love flapjacks, I used to eat one of those a day.
"Now I keep an eye on everything I eat. I avoid fried food and limit takeaways to one a week, whereas before it was much more than that."
Saskia has just been offered a job with the NHS Greater Manchester, where she will train for six years in psychiatry, which is what she is specialising in.
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She said: "I do see some cross-over between the Miss England stuff and my job. I want to use the platform to raise awareness about mental health issues, which I have suffered from before and which is an area I want to work in too.
"I will also speak about Alzheimer's, which is something close to my heart because my gran suffers from it."
Saskia said she is 'very excited' to see how far she can in the Miss England final, which will stage its final in Coventry in a red carpet event on 25 June.
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