Webcam girl denied Miss Great Britain entry by ‘outdated’ rules

An adult entertainer says the entry criteria for Miss Great Britain is “outdated” and discriminates against her profession.

Emily Kathleen, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, said she was not allowed to enter the pageant due to her career as a webcam girl, where she livestreams herself naked.

She said she was told by officials at Miss Great Britain, which the BBC has approached repeatedly for comment, that “webcam modelling – whether in the past or present – does not comply with the rules of entry”.

Before launching her business, Ms Kathleen said she was a homeless single mum but now owns her own business which employs more than 1,000 camera models with a turnover of about £3m a year.

Ms Kathleen hosts live streaming which includes topless models. She does also take private requests which can be more sexual.

She described Miss Great Britain’s entry rules as “massively discriminating”, arguing that the requirements are outdated and need to reflect modern society.

Ms Kathleen said she applied for the Miss Great Britain competition – which celebrated its 80th anniversary this year – because she “wanted something that would make her feel confident”.

She said that in 2019, following a difficult relationship breakdown, she experienced homelessness alongside her then two-year-old son.

But she managed to turn her life around after launching her camera girl business.

“I decided I wanted to do something for myself and applied for Miss Great Britain, but I was rejected because of my work,” she said.

The pageant’s criteria states that “contestants must not have posed nude or topless in any publications, websites, subscriptions”.

It adds: “There must be nothing in your background that would bring negativity towards or that would bring the Miss Great Britain competition and brand into disrepute.”

However, Ms Kathleen did enter a separate beauty pageant called Miss Glamour, and won the national title of Ms Glamour 2025.

“I’m the first cam girl pageant queen but I don’t want to be the last,” she added.

Ms Kathleen said this is not the first time she has felt singled out because of her profession, after facing what she said was extreme levels of trolling and online abuse, some of which was reported to the police.

Gloucestershire Police said it encourages anyone facing online harassment to report it to the platform where it occurs, adding that police involvement depends on the lines of inquiry available.

Despite the calls for change, not everyone agrees the rules should be updated.

Alice Williams, Miss Cotswolds Winner 2025, was a finalist in the Miss Great Britain Pageant 2025.

She believes the rules are “quite fair”, saying as it protects the pageant’s reputation.

“Each pageant has its own rules in place to maintain their brand image,” she said.

Miss Great Britain updated its rules after a previous winner, Zara Holland, was stripped of her title in 2016 after having sex on ITV2 reality show Love Island.

Pageant bosses said her behaviour “simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title”.