‘First openly gay’ Miss England has ‘achieved dream’

A woman who was bullied at school for being gay has said she has “achieved her dream” after being crowned Miss England.

Grace Richardson, 20, said she suffered constant teasing due to her sexuality while at school in Leicestershire.

The musical theatre student, from Leicester, said she was proud to have ignored the negativity, going on to win the prize after entering the competition for only the second time.

She is now believed to be the first openly gay Miss England, after being crowned at an event in Wolverhampton on Friday.

Miss Richardson, who will now represent England at Miss World 2026, said she was bullied “horrendously” while at school.

“It really affected me mentally,” she said.

“I used to get picked on for countless things, being too skinny, being really short and then becoming really tall.

“It’s almost like everything I did was wrong.

“So it’s nice being able to stand up now and say, ‘look at what I’ve done’.

“I’ve ignored everything negative that they said to me and actually I’ve gone on to achieved my dreams.”

The 20-year-old was one of 12 women to qualify for the final round of the competition, having won the “talent” category.

She was set to perform a ballet dance, but broke her foot the week after entering the event and so used another of her musical theatre talents to impress the judges.

Her rendition of Never Enough by Loren Allred, a song from The Greatest Showman, saw her take top prize.

The Leicester College of Performing Arts (LCPA) student will now fly the English flag at Miss World, which is set to take place early next year in a location yet to be announced.

She could become the first British winner of the competition since 1964.

“It would be absolutely incredible to be able to bring Miss World back to England, but you never know how it’s going to go,” she said.