Miss United Kingdom

By Sally-Ann Fawcett

The Miss United Kingdom pageant was created purely out of one man’s frustration.

Eric D Morley, of Mecca Ltd, wasn’t impressed that the first seven British entries in his Miss World contest had failed to make the top 3 since he devised the international extravaganza in 1951, and set out to, as he put it, “raise the standard of contestant”.

So, out went Mecca’s affiliation with Miss Great Britain, the Morecambe Council-run pageant that had supplied Britain’s Miss World entries thus far, and in came Morley’s new contest, Miss United Kingdom.

The fact that he chose to run Miss UK at Morecambe’s deadly seaside rival, Blackpool, only added to the competitive element which, as we will see, became less cordial over time.

Eileen Sheridan was the first ever winner of the Miss United Kingdom title in 1958, in a contest held at Blackpool’s magnificent Swimming Coliseum. This outside lido remained the venue of the pageant until 1970, before being demolished in 1983 when it was obvious that the trend for holidaymakers seeking guaranteed sun abroad, rather than taking their chances on British seaside weather, was going to be permanent.

Eileen, from Walton on Thames, proved to be a canny choice as Morley’s first Miss UK winner. Not only did she give the nation its best result in Miss World so far – 6th – she became a well-known personality in her own right. As an Old Time Music Hall male impersonator, she was in demand for shows across the country, and Morley often invited her to provide the entertainment at annual events for Miss World contestants.

Ironically considering the rivalry with Miss UK, two years after winning that title, Eileen was crowned Miss Great Britain 1960 in Morecambe, becoming one of five women to have pulled off victories in both pageants.

Eileen gained notoriety due to her close friendship with the Krays, the heads of the much-feared East End underworld ‘firm’, testifying in court to vouch for Charlie Kray’s character during his trial for the supply of drugs in 1997.

“It was a much nicer, safer place when the Krays were around,” Eileen told the jury. “We could do with a few more of them around today.”

She also made news when she donated £5,000 to the British National Party (BNP) in 2009, one of only two major donors to the controversial farright political movement.

The author was extremely privileged to meet Eileen in her home in June 2018. Her cottage, on an exclusive estate in Weybridge, was almost hidden from view by an overgrown, jungle-like garden – deliberately so, she said, to keep unwanted visitors out. Her front window displayed warning signs of (non-existent) guard dogs, while inside the dark interior, all curtains remained closed.

Eileen was proud to show off her memorabilia from a life of showbiz. Every wall was adorned with photos of the Krays and various celebrities, while she pointed out various shotguns strategically placed in the hallway – “just in case.”

The telephone rang, seconds after I had arrived. It was, she said, her minder, Jimmy Blue Eyes, to let her know that there had been a shooting nearby. I suspect that the real reason for his call was as a pre-planned check to make sure that this stranger who was visiting – me – was who she said she was, and not some villain from the past seeking revenge on a friend of the long-gone Krays.

Witty and frank about her beauty queen days, she recalled the occasion when Eric Morley had invited her to his hotel room in the mid-70s, an offer she declined. She was, in any case, completely devoted to her husband, Ken Price, a bookmaker whom she married in 1962 and who died in 2005.

She had brought all her beauty queen sashes out of storage for me to see, including that historical masterpiece – the first ever Miss United Kingdom sash from exactly 60 years ago.

Eileen was honest about her state of ill-health, warning me that she didn’t expect to have long to live. It was still, though, a shock to hear that she had died just three months later, on 31st August.

She was buried, as per her instructions, with all her beauty queen sashes, next to her beloved Ken.

Eric Morley didn’t have to wait long until his dream of a British Miss World came to fruition; in 1961 Welsh beauty Rosemarie Frankland took the title for the United Kingdom for the first time, followed in close succession by Ann Sidney in 1964 and Lesley Langley a year later.

Rosemarie forged a close relationship with the married comedian and entertainer Bob Hope, but in the decades to follow she suffered from depression and was found dead from a drug and alcohol overdose in 2000.

Ann Sidney, the 1964 Miss World from Poole, also found herself in the headlines when her relationship with married entertainer Bruce Forsyth became known. She ended the liaison and went on to become a dancer and actress, while Forsyth married another Miss World – Wilnelia Merced, the 1975 winner.

But it was Miss United Kingdom 1974 who caused one of the biggest controversies in beauty pageant history. Helen Morgan, from Barry, was a single mother to baby Richard when she won the title, and it was only afterwards that she confessed her status to a journalist.

Despite married women being barred from competing in Miss World, there was no such rule for single mothers, and Helen was allowed to carry on and compete.

But when she won she came under immense pressure from a scandalhungry media and, four days later, she chose to resign in order to protect her family from the constant intrusion.

The Miss United Kingdom contest remained in Blackpool until 1979, the final being staged in various venues including the former Tiffany’s Ballroom and the Norbreck Castle Hotel, with the swimwear parade recorded in Stanley Gardens or on the seafront.

When ITV bought the broadcasting rights from the BBC in 1980, the contest moved to London, and with the devolution of the four nations of the country in 1999, the Miss United Kingdom contest came to an end the same year.

That last pageant, held in 1999, saw Lincoln’s Nicola Willoughby take the title, thus bringing to a close forty years of one of Britain’s most prestigious and sought-after beauty contests. 