Melissa Amis wins Miss Essex FM

Melissa is crowned the winner

Melissa Amis from Great Baddow in Chelmsford has won Miss Essex FM 2008.

The 21 year old beat off competition from 23 other girls in a strong field to take the title at Basildon's Liquid & Envy nightclub on the Festival Leisure Park.

The charity event raised over £25,000 for Martin and Su's Essex Kids - a project supporting disadvantaged children in the county.

SEE MORE PICS OF THE NIGHT HERE

Back in May, 200 girls applied for Miss Essex FM, 85 got through to the second audition. Only 24 were selected to take part in the final in Bas Vegas. Since finding out they were finalists all the girls found a sponsor of at least £250 - with a range of Essex companies lining up to offer the cash.

Melissa receives adulation from the 500-strong crowd

Melissa Amis receives a modelling contract with BMA Models, a professional portfolio by Paul Blundell photography, a beauty package from Zen Clinic as well as being the face of Liquid and Envy nightclub and the county's most listened to radio station, Essex FM.

Speaking exclusively to longpier.com, Melissa told us:

"I'm absolutely shocked. I still can't believe it. You're standing there as they're reading out the names but you never think you're going to win.

Melissa relaxes in VIP lounge after win

"I've had a lot of fun doing it. There is a lot of apprehension - especially before the swimsuit round - you just hope you don't fall over in these high heels.

"I've had a good rapport with all the girls. Of course you always think 'I'd love to win', but once I met the other contestants there was just a good feeling between all of us. I think we all deserved to win tonight.

"In particular my Dad has pushed me all the way. He's always seen 'me for me' and I've really appreciated that. He used to be an army man and I think that's always spurred me on to do well.

Melissa (middle) with mother and father

"I've not been spoilt but I've always been encouraged by my father. He may have pushed me when I was 16, but I don't regret a single moment. I'm so glad he did encourage me.

"I turned 21 on Monday. I finished an art and design course at college and I'm now the manager of Principles in Chelmsford so I think I'm doing OK.

"I'd like to think this could lead to national and international modelling and I hope this year will be fantastic. I still get really nervous doing this sort of thing, but I hope - in time - I'll be able to overcome my fears and do what I've always wanted to do and that's to model".

SEE MORE PICS OF THE NIGHT HERE

Amis was up against stiff competition. Katie Amess - daughter of Southend West MP David - was considered to be a strong contender but didn't place in the top three.

Rebecca Hands wins credit for her battle against anorexia, but loses out in top three tussle
Another big bet, Rebecca Hands who overcame anorexia to compete tonight, won an award for publicity queen, but - again - didn't feature in the final trio.

The judges (l to r): Blundell, Sibley, Millbank-Smith, Belo

The judges certainly had a tough job. The panel was made up of reality TV stars and a photographer. Brian Belo was perhaps the most notable - the lanky 'unsure of himself' Basildon boy was much more confident than on Big Brother last year. Joining him was T4's Shipwrecked contestant Naomi Millbank-Smith (who's now made a name for herself as a glamour model), ex BB housemate Alex Sibley and the aforementioned Paul Blundell. In the end the decision was unanimous.

Families and friends crammed into the 'Liquid' part of the club for the 2-hour competition. Around 500 people turned up to see the girls answer questions, before a swimsuit round and the final clubwear round.

The after-party was pretty good. Belo and Sibley stuck around until 1.30am with several good looking women draped around the former Big Brother stars. There was a good natured vibe in the VIP lounge and a much more relaxed atmosphere than I expected. longpier.com was well catered for by Essex FM, so thank you to my previous employers, especially Nicola Bott (who incidentally is the voice of Longpier Live).


Yes it was all very tongue in cheek, but it did raise a decent amount of cash for the charity and everyone seemed to enjoy it - even those girls who didn't quite make the top three.

I must get myself to more of these things. If you're planning an event and want longpier.com to cover it, drop me an email.

See more exclusive pics of the night on Longpier Flickr
Read more about the night at Essex FM