A LADY from Launceston is thrilled to have made it through to the grand final of the UK Calendar Girls competition.

The Post recently reported Donna Young had made it through to the text vote round, and after securing enough votes, will go to the grand final on August 29 in Bristol.

The Calendar Girls concept was launched in January 2006 by Myles Lockwood, a publisher and print broker in Plymouth. The idea derived from a concept he came across walking through New York City Time Square in November 2005.

Myles saw an opportunity in the market and decided to create a local competition for men and women looking to break into modelling, or even try the modelling industry without the rigmarole and cost of having to create a portfolio or wait to be noticed by bonafide modelling agencies.

On top of this he decided to donate proceeds from the sales of the calendar to cancer based charities after losing his mum Wendy Lockwood to cancer after a 20-year long battle in February 2000.

Originally named ‘Plymouth High Street Girls’ the first calendar struck a chord with local businesses and media right from the minute it was announced. Within a matter of months more than 400 local applicants, people and businesses were backing and supporting the calendar and the cause.

Today the popular competition has now expanded from Plymouth, Bournemouth and Bristol to all of the UK under the name of UK Calendar Girls with casting days in Bristol, Plymouth, Cardiff, Watford, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds.

Through the competition, Donna and the other participants have to promote themselves as much as possible, all the while raising money for the Chestnut Appeal, for prostate cancer.

Donna was one of those taking part at the very start, and is taking part again this year.

There will be 80 women competing for the 12 spaces at the grand final.

Donna said: “I feel absolutely thrilled to get into the grand final, it was my goal to reach it and I’m so happy with the outcome that I got.

“The next step for me to reach the final 12 is to socialise with all the guests that are attending the final as there are 79 other finalists that will be bringing their friends and family. The only way to get them to vote for me again in the brochure they give out with all 80 girls in, is to speak with everyone and socialise.

“I’d like to thank each and everyone person who voted for me throughout the whole text vote of the competition, without your support I couldn’t get to the final.

“I’d like to personally thank my boyfriend Jamie for his support throughout and also to my best friend Steph Dodds and her family for getting so many people to vote across the weeks.

“To help promote myself I had a t-shirt made with my text vote number that the competition supplied and I also had business cards made. This helped me promote myself at Royal Cornwall Show and also at a huge car event in Donnington. My nan also gave out my business cards around Trago Mills and put them on the shelves. The last day of text vote I went round to my local pubs and asked them to hand them out to customers, which were the White Horse, Newmarket Inn and Westgate Inn. This may have helped me with the last few votes that I needed.

“I would highly recommend doing this competition for anyone who would like to gain confidence in themselves. The whole team are amazing to work with and Myles and the rest of the UKCG team have put some much effort into this competition over the years and it’s gone from strength to strength. I hope that everyone has more awareness of prostate cancer now more than they did at the start of the competition.”

For more information, visit https://ukcalendargirls.co.uk/