Baby Beauty Queens
Episode 1: Amber and Eden
30 minutes
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 thinks the pageant is preparing Eden for life and giving her experiences that will enrich her and give her confidence. Eden certainly has bags of confidence and isn't worried in the slightest about the impending pageant - she's seen it all before. But will she be able to cope with the results?
Part of The Adult Season on BBC Three. Show less