7:50am Saturday 4th September 2010
By Chris Walker
BRAVE Camilla Chia did not make the Miss England final shortlist – but the Headington student was determined to bow out with her head held high.
The 21-year-old beauty queen overcame life-changing stomach surgery to be crowned Miss Oxford earlier this year and said she was not downhearted at losing out at the country’s biggest beauty contest.
Miss Chia, who has a three-inch scar across her navel as a result of surgery to cure a rotated bowel, said she had conflicting emotions about not making the final 20 contestants in the final at the Birmingham Metropole on Wednesday.
The competition was eventually won by Miss Nottingham Jessica Linley, a 21-year-old law student.
Miss Chia, a former Cherwell School pupil, said: “It was a crazy experience.
“Part of you thinks you’d love to win.
“But the other part worries about how much time you’d have to give up to fulfil the duties of Miss England and how much you’d miss your family.
“You want your number to be called out so you are in the final but at the same time it’s a nerve-racking experience.
“It’s a bit of a relief to know I’ve got some time to myself now.
“Everyone was really lovely and the girls were all really welcoming, but there’s still quite a harsh sense of competition at the same time.”
She added: “I have realised that I’m not that competitive a person.”
The Brookes University student, whose father runs the Chiang Mai Kitchen off Oxford High Street, believes she lost out to more experienced beauty contestants at the finals.
However Miss Chia, who wants to be a restaurant entrepreneur herself, did finish fifth in the contest’s eco-dress competition after she made an outfit out of biodegradable bags from the womenswear shop Reiss in the High Street.
Mum Lisa, 46 said: “She didn’t get into the final 20 but I loved being there for her.
“When I saw her up there in all her finery I thought she worked the stage very well.
“It was a very, very proud moment.”
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