Miss Great Britain is a national beauty pageant in the United Kingdom with origins dating back to the postâÂÂWorld War II era. First held in 1945, the competition has evolved over the decades and remains one of the country's longest-running beauty contests. The pageant is currently owned by John Singh and continues to feature sub-brands such as Ms Great Britain and Ms Great Britain Classic.
In the years following World War II, a number of British seaside resorts began hosting bathing beauty contests. The first event that evolved into Miss Great Britain took place in Morecambe in 1945, organised by the local council in partnership with the Sunday Dispatch newspaper.
Miss Great Britain was based in Morecambe from 1956 to 1989. The first final attracted over 4,000 spectators despite heavy rain. The prize fund increased steadily during the 1950s, reflecting the contestâÂÂs growing popularity, and at the time it offered one of the largest prize totals run by a local authority. Heats were later held across Mecca dance halls, and between 1951 and 1957, winners also qualified to compete in Miss World.
During the 1970s, the contest gained national exposure through televised broadcasts. A production by Yorkshire Television for ITV in 1971 drew an audience of several million viewers. The BBC later acquired rights to the event, but in 1984 announced its final broadcast, citing changing public attitudes toward beauty pageants. Following the 1989 final, Miss Great Britain went on hiatus. After its period of inactivity, Miss Great Britain was acquired by businessperson John Singh, who reintroduced the competition under a new management structure. John had prior experience in entertainment and event promotion and had collaborated with figures from the broader pageant industry, including Eric Morley of Miss World. Under John's ownership, the contest was re-established and diversified through the introduction of additional categories such as Ms Great Britain and Ms Great Britain Classic. In 1996, Anita St Rose was crowned as the first Black Miss Great Britain, a milestone widely noted in pageant coverage of the time.
Today Miss Great Britain continues to operate as a national competition with regional heats across the UK. The pageant focuses on personal development, public engagement, and charity work alongside traditional beauty contest elements.
In November 2006, the original winner, Danielle Lloyd, was stripped of her title due to allegations of her involvement with one of the judges and her agreement to pose for Playboy magazine. A poll of readers of The Sun newspaper selected Preeti Desai as LloydâÂÂs replacement. This made Desai the first woman of Indian heritage to hold the Miss Great Britain title, albeit for only six months. However, in 2010, the pageant organizer Liz Fuller reversed this decision, reinstating Danielle Lloyd as the rightful winner and thereby annulling Desai's title.
Rachael Tennent, a project co-ordinator, was awarded the crown of Miss Great Britain. Along with the crown, the new titleholder was gifted a car, jewellery and a modelling contract. Tennent had previously competed for the Miss Scotland 2006 title which she placed 2nd runner-up. The event was held in Grosvenor House in Park Lane, London. Tennent did not complete her reign which resulted in Gemma Garrett (Miss Great Britain 1st Runner Up 2007) taking over the title of Miss Great Britain for the rest of the year.
The event took place on 12 May 2009 at the Café de Paris in Central London. A strong PR campaign was orchestrated to re-brand the event to the nation, with some 70,000 online entrants being whittled down through national heats to the final 12 girls. Heavily covered by the media, the eventual winner was Miss Newcastle - Sophie Gradon who won Miss Great Britain at the age of 23 years old.
Amy Carrier a 20âÂÂyearâÂÂold law student from Liverpool, was crowned Miss Great Britain at a ceremony held in WestonâÂÂsuperâÂÂMare. Selected from 57 contestants, it was her first beauty competition entry. Lisa Lazarus was first runnerâÂÂup and Gina Basham was second runnerâÂÂup.
In 2026, the organisers announced the creation of Miss Britain, a related pageant intended to complement the existing Miss Great Britain title. It aims to attract new participants through a contemporary competition format while maintaining the long-standing heritage of the Miss Great Britain brand.
Archives of Miss Great Britain are held at The Women's Library at the Library of the London School of Economics. Most surviving material is held at Lancashire Archives as part of the Morecambe and Heysham Borough Council collection.