Two Lincolnshire contestants amongst top 10 finalists in Miss England pageant

Rebecca-Jay Fearn, a 24 year-old business owner from Skegness is competing for the title Miss England.

The final of the Miss England Contest saw two Lincolnshire residents join more than 40 women from across England at the Heart of England Conference Centre in Coventry for one of the most well-known beauty pageants in the world.

Rebecca-Jay Fearn, 24, from Skegness, who won Miss Lincolnshire in February 2021, and Mia Rothwell, 21, from Boston, qualified after finishing as runner up in the county competition.

However the pageant was eventually won by 25-year-old Rehema Muthamia from Mill Hill in Greater London, a health technology consultant who is fluent in four languages and spent part of her childhood in Kenya.

Mia Rothwell, who is the Miss Boston 2021

In 2019, Bhasha Mukherjee was crowned Miss England, the day before starting a new position as Junior Doctor at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.

Following the cancellation of the 2020 pageant due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and postponement of the 2021 event, Bhasha has become the longest reigning Miss England in history.

Rebecca-Jay Fearn, a 24 year-old business owner from Skegness, was crowned as Miss Lincolnshire in February 2021 following a virtual final held through Zoom due to the restrictions of the pandemic.

Rebecca-Jay said: “My duration as Miss Lincolnshire has been a life-changing experience so far, and I’m very lucky and honoured to have met some incredible people along my journey and made some fantastic new friends.

Miss England 2021 was won by London's Rehema Muthamia. Here she is being given the crown by 2019's winner, Bhasha Mukherjee from Boston. Photo: Miss England

"My title has given me access to new opportunities and be involved in a variety of different events.

"I’m really excited for the final of Miss England.”

Mia Rothwell, a 21 year old University student from Boston also qualified for the Miss England finals having been crowned Miss Boston through placement as runner up of the Miss Lincolnshire competition.

Before the final Mia said: “The Miss England competition has been an exciting and different challenge for me, both physically and mentally. Following in the footsteps of the current reigning Miss England, Bhasha Mukherjee, is a huge honour for me, and I’m determined to continue to ensure that Boston is recognised for its potential.

"Winning this competition would be a dream come true and help me with my passion to improve mental health awareness, particularly in younger adults and teenagers, accompanied by my fundraising to improve services for dementia.”

Phil Green, organiser of Miss Lincolnshire said: “Every year we hold Miss Lincolnshire, the calibre of the women gets better and better, and it becomes more of a challenge both for the regional competition, and the national too."

The Miss England Final involved a selection of rounds taking place on the day including a Plastic Free Ethical Fashion audition, Talent round, Flawless photographic and a Lookalike round.

Multiple rounds had already taken place throughout the duration of the summer, including a Sports round, a Bare face top model, Explore the Nation Tourism contest in association with UK Staycations where finalists promote the area they represent and more.