COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Channel 4 has reportedly commissioned a new series about a beauty pageant in Wales.


Last year's contestants await results

The show, which has been dubbed the new Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, will feature contestants battling to become Miss Merthyr Tydfil.

Scouts spent two weeks looking for suitable girls for the competition at a local retail park, according to The Sun.

The pageant is held at a leisure centre in the Welsh town, with the girls being styled by local hairdressers Beehive Hair Consultants.

The grand finale involves three rounds - Casual Wear, Little Black Dress and Evening Wear - and the winner will represent Merthyr in the 2012 Miss Wales competition.

Miss Wales will eventually represent the country in the Miss World pageant in China in July.

A Channel 4 source said: "The girls taking part in Miss Merthyr mean serious business. They preen and primp themselves to look their very best and will stop at nothing to get that crown.

"They also have to prove they have some kind of talent so some of those going for the 2012 title have already taken part in pageant classes aimed at getting the best out of themselves.

"Show bosses are already billing it as the new Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. There are flamboyant costumes and intense beauty regimes and the competition between finalists is always fierce.

"The winner is decided by a public vote so family and friends of rival contestants get involved in a big way."

Filming on the project, currently titled Miss Merthyr, has just begun and the show is expected to launch in summer.