The Miss England final is set to take place this Friday – and one of the beautiful contestants lives and grew up in nowhere less than south east London’s Lewisham.

Constance Iloghalu, 27, has enjoyed acting, singing and dancing since she was younger.

She has grown up to campaign for a number of “important” causes – and found a partnership between performance and passionate campaigning in beauty pageants.

Constance, a family support worker, begun by taking part in local pageants in her early 20s, and was the first runner up in the most recent Miss London competition.

She was then automatically put through to the Miss England 2021 semi-finals and will display her evening gown in a catwalk performance and question and answer session in the final on Friday, August 27.

Constance says that being a pageant queen gives you a platform make a positive impact and changes - and that’s one of the main reasons she hopes to win at the final in Coventry.

The New Cross resident told the News Shopper: “It would mean so much to me if I won as I’ll be given a platform to do more.

“You can network, you’re given more opportunities and more resources and I’d be given training in public speaking.

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“Although it’s an image-based competition and you have to take pride in your appearance, it’s not all about the looks.

“They’re important, but not everything, and beauty isn’t just about what you look like but also the way you are with others and the way you make a positive impact - and winning will help me to do that.”

Constance is currently in her final year studying social sciences at UCL on a scholarship, awarded to her due to impressive academic performance.

She wants to do a masters after it, and regardless of her place in the competition, plans on going to Ghana in September to do charity work, and to Kenya in November to teach English.

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She wants to win the competition to show people that anyone can do what she does.

Constance added: “I never expected someone that looks like me and from my type of background to be on a national stage.

“The majority of the girls are white, some are Asian and then there are three black girls including me.

“I wouldn’t expect someone that looks and talks like me to be on a huge stage like Miss England.

“Young black girls can look at me and see that they can go far and go to places where they might have thought they wouldn’t fit in.”

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Constance will be up against 44 other finalists, whittled down from 60 in the semi-final.

Some of the rounds and tasks she has completed so far include bake sales, charity marathons, fundraising and sports rounds to show fitness and agility.

Constance added: “If I win, I’ll be representing England at Miss World.

“I have so many causes I’m passionate about and although without the title I’ll still continue with charitable work, I want to do more and make positive changes.”

There will be a public vote for Miss England 2021 – but the winner is decided by a panel of judges.

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