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Size 16 Miss England hop Chloe checks out the competition at bikini photoshoot
Last updated at 18:00pm on 07.04.08Size 16 teenage beauty queen Chloe Marshall saw the size of the task in front of her as she met the competition for the annual Miss England competition.
The semi-finalists were joined by the current title holder Georgia Horsley for a photo shoot in West London.
Posing confidently in a white bikini, sarong and tiara, curvy Chloe stood out among the other size 8 and 10 finalists – for all the right reasons.
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Size 16 Miss England contender Chloe Marshall meets the current title holder Georgia Horsley today
The Guildford-born plus-size model weighs 12st 8lb, is 5ft 10in tall and has a 38DD bust.
The 17-year-old trainee beautician was the first size 16 to win the Miss Surrey title, qualifying her for the Miss England finals in July.
She said: "It's what I was born to do – posing for the camera. And as I keep saying, I love my body.
"People seem desperate to get me to say that I don't, that deep down I'm not happy and would rather be thin, but the fact is I wouldn't change myself at all.
"Do I have fat days? Of course, but what woman doesn't!"
But although she is the average size for a woman, in the age which has seen the rise of the scarily thin size zero model, she certainly stands out.
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Bikini shoot: Miss England contestants get ready for their close-ups in west London today
Chloe said reaction has been mainly positive, but she admitted in an interview with Hello magazine, that there had been some snide remarks with one writer accusing her of "promoting obesity".
Chloe told Hello: "I'm a size 16, I eat well, I exercise regularly – I jog, swim, and work out with weights.
"What I am promoting is a healthy girl who looks after herself and doesn't try to force her body to be something its not."
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Stopping traffic: The girls strut their stuff
The teenager, who has been signed up by the Models Plus agency, added: "Everybody thinks you have to be a tall, slim blonde and I'm a curvy brunette.
"I want to show it is possible to be beautiful and not a standard size zero."
"The reaction I've had is great. Other girls have told me I have really boosted their confidence, which is terrific."
"I wanted to make a bit of a statement. When I studied the other entrants for the Miss Surrey competition I concluded that pretty as the contestants were, they were equally all uniformly blonde and Barbie doll like.
"My mum is really happy and proud of me that I am doing something not just for myself but other people as well and my friends are really supportive, they can't stop going on about it."
Reader views (4)
Kitty, she exercises more than most people do and probably way more than most bone thin people. I'm not sure how you think that's not healthy. Some people hold onto extra weight and fat no matter what and, as she said, trying to force your body into something it's not is UNhealthy. How healthy do you think it is to have your ribs sticking out (as i seen many of the thinner models have)? She's downright hot and promoting, not obesity, but loving one's body and doing your best to be healthy no matter what and I"m not sure what problem you have with that.
- Heather, Greensboro,USA
At the risk of sounding catty, but she's less curvy than fat. I wish people would stop confusing the two. Look at that role around her - classic apple shape and heart attack candidate Curvy depends on your bone structure, fat is the stuff that wobbles. How can we moan on about the obesity levels of this country and then hold this girl up as a good role model. A well toned, naturally size 16 person, fine, but not someone who is clearly overweight.
- Kitty, London
Good for Surrey!
- Marianne, SW France
Well it has to be said she has the best face and is mostly in proportion. The
others look all the same.
- Brian Fast, London
