91Èȱ¬

From sashes and tiaras to diamante eyelashes and spray tans, 91Èȱ¬ Three dives extensions first into the burgeoning world of the UK Beauty Pageant industry, in a new, six-part series of Baby Beauty Queens.

Last year, 91Èȱ¬ Three broadcast a single film, Baby Beauty Queens, made by Landmark Films, described as "poignant, hilarious and unsettling" by The Sunday Times.

Now, in a new, six-part series, Landmark Films explores the pressures on young people to grow up too quickly by shining a spotlight on life for aspiring pageant queens and child models in an image-obsessed Britain.

Five years ago, there were no children's beauty pageants in the UK. There are now over 20, with thousands of girls – and some boys – taking part.

Baby Beauty Queens explores different elements of pageant life and child modelling from the growth in the UK pageant scene to the explosion in the ultra-glamorous freestyle dance competitions.

Following several children eager to shine, not to mention the parents egging them on, Baby Beauty Queens looks at the preparation, self-confidence, bravery and talent needed to succeed on the pageant scene and modelling industry and looks at the costs and benefits to children and their parents – both emotionally and financially.

"It's a rich terrain for documentary," says Nick O'Dwyer, executive producer for Landmark Films.

"Lots of people look down their noses at child beauty shows, or despise them as a purely American phenomenon. But the pageant scene in the UK has rocketed from nowhere and we were interested in knowing who takes part and why.

"You might not want to put your own kids into a pageant, but I believe anyone watching the films with an open mind will recognise the motivations of the parents and children involved and see they're not so very different."

In programme one, seven-year-old Amber and six-year-old Eden prepare to become two of the youngest competitors in Mini Miss UK, while their motivated mothers, Sally and Fathom, go head-to-head in the Yummy Mummy section.

"She wants to get noticed and that is where she is, I would say, 100 per cent like me," says Sally of Amber.

"I've always wanted to be famous. I've always, always watched all these programmes and deep down thought: 'What have they got that I haven't got?' No, I've got even more to give".

Will the two young girls have the talent and temperament to succeed in the competition and, more importantly, how will they cope with the results?

In programme two, "rave meets Rio" as Baby Beauty Queens jives into the extraordinary and super-glamorous world of freestyle dancing, the fastest growing dance craze in the UK.

Here, viewers meet 11-year-old Chloe, who bullied at school and who has gained much-needed confidence in a world where wildly flamboyant costumes sparkle with thousands of diamante diamonds and cost up to £2,000 apiece.

"I used to think about my appearance and the names people called me at primary school – fat, ugly – I had no confidence in myself," says Chloe. "Now I think it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, I think I look good and I feel good about myself".

In programme three, Baby Beauty Queens goes behind the curtains with ambitious 20-year-old Lucie, as she sets up her own beauty pageant.

Will novice Lucie pull off the first Miss Mini Photogenic UK with a little help from mum and dad? And how will very different children Telka, Megan and Karragh fare in their very first pageant? "It is good experience for them, it's confidence-building, which is really important," says ex-competitor Lucie.

"It's the dream, isn't it? A lot of young girls want to become a model or a dancer and it is a good stepping stone for them."

Sophie, 13, is already Britain's most lauded Baby Beauty Queen, with 17 titles under her sash. Now she's looking for a new challenge and is heading to Texas, home of the world's glitziest pageants, to compete in one of the largest of all: the Universal Royalty National Pageant of America.

But Sophie hasn't always been obsessed with pageants. Until a year ago, she was a music scholar at a prestigious private school, much more interested in her schoolwork than in what she looked like.

Following Sophie and her mother, Joy, on their ambitious venture into the competitive and crazy world of American child beauty pageants, the film explores why, for Sophie, being a beauty queen is so important.

Eight-year-old Liane is desperate to be a model – just like her idol Katie Price. And her mum, Amanda, will do almost anything to make Liane's dream come true. Only really confident when wearing make-up, Liane knows she's going to have to ditch the cosmetics if she wants to make it in the competitive world of child modelling.

Examining our obsession with image and appearance, Baby Beauty Queens follows the family through a whirl of spray tans, clothes shopping and nail bars as Amanda carries out her mission to land Liane her dream job and to become recognised nationally.

The youngest of four boys, eight-year-old Matthew, isn't interested in football or computer games. More than anything else in the world, he wants to be a model. Matthew's parents feel that since they support his brothers' interests in music and football, they must do the same for Matthew's less conventional passions and sign him up with a child model agency.

This film follows Matthew's journey from a quiet village to the competitive world of child modelling – a world very different from the fantasy catwalks of Matthew's imagination.

Part of 91Èȱ¬ Three's forthcoming Adult Season, Baby Beauty Queens will be transmitted in Summer 2010. It is a Landmark Films production.

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