A 20-year-old from Arlesey has been crowned Miss Bedfordshire at this year’s competition, and will go on to represent the county at the Miss England 2018 finals in Birmingham in July.
Deyonne Best decided to apply for the Miss Bedfordshire competitions after enjoying the experience of making it to the finals of Miss Derbyshire earlier this year.
She told the Comet: “I have always had a love of pageants – I used to watch Toddlers and Tiaras religiously and kept up to date with Miss World and Miss Universe. I would always imagine myself up on those stages.
“After graduating from Expressions I moved to Derby and my boyfriend convinced me to apply for Miss England, and I figured ‘why not?’ It’s something I’ve always dreamed about doing and now is the perfect time.”
Within minutes of applying, Deyonne was invited to audition at the Miss England HQ in Leicester, where she was successful in making it to the Miss Derbyshire finals.
“I couldn’t believe I had made a county final, I never imagined I would actually make it that far,” she continued.
“I attended the final and I didn’t place, but I had such an amazing time and met such amazing girls in the competition I didn’t want to give it up, and decided to enter again next year.”
After finding out that she could still apply for Miss Bedfordshire, even though she had moved out of the county, Deyonne entered.
The 20-year-old dancer said: “I had such an amazing time at the Herts and Beds final and I met some more inspiring girls.
“When it came to the crowning ceremony I wasn’t expecting to be placed and I thought if I was lucky I may get runner up. When my name was called as the winner of Miss Bedfordshire I was in complete shock. I couldn’t believe it, it was a dream come true,
“It still hasn’t totally sunk in. I’m so excited for what my year with the title holds.
“I hope to be able to post events, promote Miss England as much as possible, help the community as much as I can and raise as much for charity as possible. So far I have raised over £300 for Beauty with a Purpose, Miss World’s official charity helping disadvantaged children all over the world.”
As a county winner, Deyonne is now a finalist in the Miss England pageant, which is being held in two heats. The first in Resorts World in Birmingham and the second at Kelham Hall in Nottinghamshire.
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