A 24-year-old mum from Woolwich has made it through to the finals of Miss British Isles.

Mum-of-one Elle Thomas is in the running to be crowned Miss London South East and will be heading to Chester with her partner and son for the modelling competition’s final in September.

Elle, who grew up in Greenwich, spoke to News Shopper about the potentially life-changing gig, her dreams for the next five years and advice for all aspiring models out there.

Revealing that she started modelling when she was 14, Elle said she was forced to take a break from her career when she welcomed her son aged 20.

She said: “I used to model when I was 14 or 15, but I stopped all of a sudden.

“I got pregnant at 19 and had a baby at 20.

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“He’s four now and at school full time, so I got back into modelling and I signed with my agency, Bizzy.”

As for making it to the Miss British Isles final, Elle said she was headhunted by the competition.

She explained: “I got approached for this because they thought I’d be a good fit - I was so shocked.

“The Miss Britain people approached my agent and asked if I wanted to do it.

“Of course I said yes.”

However, the pandemic meant the first half of the competition had to take place virtually.

Elle said the competition at first was all virtual because of the pandemic, so everything took place over video calls.

But come September, Elle will be travelling up to Chester in the hopes of being crowned Miss London South East.

As for what the judges are looking for, Elle said: “It’s all about how you look, how you walk.”

But despite the glitz and glamour of the competition, Elle revealed it all comes down to how competitors style themselves.

“Last year’s winner won wearing a £30 dress,” she said.

But the doting mum still has no idea what she’s going to wear and is currently searching for fashion sponsors.

She explained: “I can look for a sponsorship, so I can sponsor someone’s business and borrow their dresses.”

Elle joked that although her dream sponsor would be Burberry, she “probably won’t land quite as big a name just yet”.

She has her heart set on PrettyLittleThing, and has already begun reaching out to potential sponsors.

Elle discovered her passion for modelling at an early age, but it was when she discovered she was actually named after a world-famous runway star that she really started putting her dreams into action.

“I’ve always wondered why my name was Elle,” she said.

“Then my mum told me that it’s after Elle Macpherson, the model.

“As soon as she said that, something clicked and I thought ‘I want to do that too’.”

Elle credits Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner as her favourite models, and while she’s grateful to be doing what she loves for a living, admitted it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

She said: “When I first started modelling at about 14 or 15, I was only a size six.

“They told me I have to try and stay the same size.”

Elle added: “I wear size ten and twelve now and I’m much more comfortable.”

She also admirably admitted she’s never fallen for fad diets because she “loves her chocolate waffles too much”.

She added: “My little boy keeps me active.”

The future certainly looks bright for Elle, who is currently filming an E4 show that she’s not allowed to talk about.

She said: “In five years I want to be on a billboard in London.

“And I want to make sure my little boy’s got a good future ahead of him.

“I want to give my boy everything.”

As for Elle’s advice to young women hoping to follow in her footsteps?

“You haven’t got to be size zero and six foot four,” she said.

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