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Private Notes
As the American phenomenon of the children's beauty pageant hits the UK, this documentary uncovers a surreal new world where nine-year-olds get fake tans and seven-year-olds wear contact lenses. With the grand final of the first-ever Mini Miss UK beauty contest taking place at a leisure centre in Milton Keynes, it soon becomes clear that tantrums and tiaras may prevail over perfect poses and pouts. The mastermind behind the pageant is a middle-aged ex-beauty queen, who plans the entire event from her stairwell in Colchester. The film follows three girls and their mothers in the lead-up to the big event, and as they prepare to dazzle the judges the real reasons why they are desperate to be crowned Mini Miss UK become apparent. From the evangelical Christians who are convinced that God will help them win the pageant, to the disadvantaged kid for whom the contest holds the key to a better life, the film portrays an eccentric, and at times disturbing, snapshot of modern Britain.
Amber and Eden are two of the youngest girls to enter the Mini Miss UK beauty pageant. For the first time there is also a yummy mummy section, so Amber and Eden's mums are entering too. Amber is seven and lives in Farnborough with mum Sally and brother Keanu. Their dad Mark lives just round the corner, as he and Sally recently separated. Amber has never entered a pageant before, but she is serious about fashion and won't be told what to wear by anyone, not even her mum. Sally supports and pushes her daughter in whatever she wants to do, but she also believes she's got the looks to make it too. Sally used to be overweight and spent six months trying to lose the weight she put on after having children. Being overweight affected her so much she didn't want to leave the house - she hated the way she looked. Since she dropped four dress sizes she now loves the way she looks and the beauty pageant offers her the chance to show off her new self. She's also fiercely competitive and wants her daughter to win, so she makes sure she has the best dresses and make-up. They both have very strong personalities so sparks fly when the two of them are together, particularly making decisions about the pageant. Amber is a dancer and wants to dance to the pop song Bad Boys by Alexandra Burke for the talent section of the pageant. She won't take direction from anyone and not even her mum knows quite what she's going to do on stage come pageant day. Eden is six and has been brought up on catwalks, as her mum Fathom owns a bespoke dress shop in Southend. She has won talent competitions with her singing before, so she's expecting to do well this time. Eden is an only child and lives with her mum and dad Daniel near the dress shop. Before the pageant she has to make sure she can remember all the words to her new performance song, with the help of her mum. Fathom thinks there's nothing wrong with entering a pageant as long as the competition element isn't taken too far, and thi
Film which follows 11-year-old freestyle dancer Chloe as she tries to overcome her fears about dancing on her own in front of the judges. Chloe lives with her mum and younger sister Daisy in Belfast and has been bullied about her weight since she was six, giving her confidence issues. She stopped eating properly and was so worried she was overweight she started asking her mum how much fat was in certain types of food. Now she has started secondary school and even though she is much happier the name calling didn't quite go away. The school responded by offering her sessions to help build confidence and Chloe is making progress. Through all this strife the only thing that has kept her going is dance. Freestyle dance is the fastest growing form of dance in the UK. It's a glamorous mix of rave and Rio carnival, where the contestants wear exaggerated make-up, diamante-studded costumes and sport the darkest tan to get noticed on the floor. Chloe started at Jenny Stewart's school of dance five years ago and it gave her a place where she felt free, safe and able to dance out all her frustrations. She is also a good dancer and has amassed over 200 trophies in her career. The only thing she hasn't done is dance at championship level, where you have to dance in front of the judges on your own in the final. She has always felt too self-conscious to step out on the floor with all eyes on her before. Can Chloe overcome her shyness to impress the judges in one of the most looks-conscious dance scenes in the world?
23-year-old model Lucie Brassington is running her own beauty pageant, Miss Mini Photogenic. From the age of six, girls have entered via the internet to try their hand at becoming the new face of this prestigious title. For most of the little girls who are competing it will be their first time walking down a catwalk, and for Lucie it's the first time she has ever run a pageant. Ten-year-old Megan from Birmingham is one of six children, but is the only one who has ever wanted to perform on the stage. For the family it's a big investment and Megan has had to do her fair share of fundraising. After asking her neighbours and local shops if they would like to sponsor her, she has one last attempt at raising the money she needs. Although she has never taken part in a beauty competition, 11-year-old Telka is an accomplished and talented actor who has appeared in a major TV series and is the voice behind a children's cartoon character. Her mum was a successful child model in Iran and now Telka is trying to follow in her footsteps. For nine-year-old Karagh, it is not only her first pageant but also the first time she gets to stay in a hotel. Her 14-year-old auntie Kerry entered Karagh into the competition and although she thinks she has a good chance of winning, she's nervous about her gappy and wobbly teeth. But Kerry comes to the rescue and finds a beauty pageant secret that will cover up the gaps by coating Karagh's teeth in Vaseline. On the day of the pageant, 26 grand finalist girls compete for this new title at Epsom Racecourse. It's a tense day for all of them, especially when some of the judges come down with swine flu, and Lucie and her mum go on a frantic search for a final judge with minutes to spare
13-year-old Sophie Watson has won more beauty pageants than any other teenager in Britain. Having racked up seventeen titles in the UK, Sophie wants a fresh challenge and so she is heading to Texas, home to the world glitziest pageants, to compete in one of the largest of them all - the Universal Royalty National Pageant of America. Sophie hasn't always been obsessed with pageants. Until a year ago, she was a music scholar at prestigious private school, much more interested in her schoolwork than in what she looked like. Her transformation from shy and studious schoolgirl to appearance-obsessed beauty queen has been supported and encouraged by her mum, Joy. Following Sophie and Joy on their ambitious venture into the competitive and crazy world of American child beauty pageants, this film explores why, for Sophie, being a beauty queen is so important.
Unlike most boys his age, eight-year-old Matthew isn't interested in football or computer games. Instead, Matthew is obsessed with fashion and shopping and, more than anything else in the world, he wants to be a model. Matthew much prefers the company of girls and his favorite hobby, much to his older brothers' dismay, is performing elaborate catwalk shows on the dining room table with his best friend, Marni. Matthew's parents Lee and Ross feel that since they support his brothers' interests in music and football, they must do the same for Matthew's less conventional passions and so they sign him up with a child model agency. Of course, the child model industry turns out to be very different from the fantasy catwalks of Matthew's imagination.
Eight-year-old Liane is desperate to be a model, just like her idol Katie Price. Her mum Amanda tried to make it as a model but her dream didn't come true, so now she hopes that it will for her daughter. Like most girls of her age Liane is into fashion, but she doesn't really feel confident unless she has a face full of make-up. However, she knows that she is going to have to ditch the foundation, face powder, eyeliner, mascara, false eyelashes and lipstick if she wants to make it in the competitive world of child modelling. In 2009, Liane nearly landed a modelling contract as the new girl of Walls sausages in a major TV commercial, but her former school wouldn't grant her the time off for filming. Liane lost the job and Amanda took her story to the local newspaper and changed schools. Liane and her four-year-old sister Ella have had one success though - they won a local photographic competition to become the Christmas poster girls for their shopping centre in Peterborough. But Amanda is on a mission to land Liane her dream job and become recognised nationally. To mother and daughter, appearance is everything and even a child's birthday party takes two days of preparation, starting with a spray tan the night before, followed by a trip to the nail bar, the hairdressers and, of course, a new outfit. Amanda describes Liane as very much a 'girly girl' and is delighted when Ella also decides to join in and so she buys Ella her first foundation.
