Well... where to start?! Firstly, for those of you who do not know me, I am Holly Ikin and I have recently won the title of Miss Cheshire. This means that I will be representing the county at the Miss England final later this year. In 2007, I won the title of Miss Warrington. Since then, I have been promoting the town across the country and have loved every second of it.

Now I know many of you may be thinking, why would you enter a beauty contest? Do they still exist in the 21st century? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

I should explain that my friends definitely believe I was born a couple of decades too late. Annual TV highlights in my household included watching Miss World and the Eurovision song contest - I thought all families did this but I have since realised that it was my mum making me watch the same programmes that she watched as a child! So, when I first heard about Miss England, it seemed only natural to give it a go as I had been brought up watching Miss World. The contests may have waned in popularity over the years but they are definitely making a comeback in the UK and globally, Miss World still remains the most watched annual TV programme.

2010 is Miss World’s sixtieth anniversary and it would be an incredible opportunity to represent my country in the final….. that, however, is a long way off and so I won’t start dreaming about it just yet!

I have quite a bit of experience in competitions like this and hopefully that will help me in Miss England. I have won several local and national contests and as a result, I have been lucky enough to travel the world whilst competing in different competitions. Over the last few years, I have been to the Philippines, Las Vegas, Chicago, LA, Antigua… and more. I feel incredibly lucky to have visited so many places as a result of my modelling and can only hope that it continues for a little while longer!

The Miss Cheshire competition was a really great experience, I had such a fun day. All of the girls were lovely and we had such a laugh throughout the day. I couldn't believe it when I won; the choreographer Lisa said that she saw me check my number when the winner was announced - just to double check it was actually me!!

Now that I am Miss Cheshire, I am determined to make the most of my year and have lots of things planned to ensure that I make the most of it. Watch this space…