A BEAUTY queen hopeful says she is proud to have appeared on a documentary about Miss Hull despite abuse from Twitter trolls.
Lauren Skelton, 20, of east Hull, appeared on a Channel 4's Beauty Queen Or Bust, which followed three struggling girls who hoped the Miss Hull and District pageant could change their fortunes.
The programme aired a day after the controversial Channel 5 documentary Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole documentary, which attracted criticism for the way Hull was portrayed and led those featured to say they had been exploited.
And while some people believed the city had been unfairly shown again, Miss Skelton, a shop cleaner, said she wanted to go on the programme to get her point across that it is not just about how you look in pageants, but also personality that counts.
She said in general she had a "great reaction" from people. But she says she has also been criticised and been subject to abuse from so-called abusive "trolls" on social media site Twitter.
"I have had some bad responses on Twitter," said Miss Skelton. "It is people being small-minded.
"I'm tough, I can take these things on the chin and it's a good job I'm strong-willed and I can take it.
"It was mostly the older generation. I have grown up to respect my elders and I think it should be the other way round, too, and they should respect me.
"They were mainly just nasty comments."
Lauren says she replied to some of the tweets.
"Nothing bad, I was just pointing out that they didn't know me as a person, so how could they comment on it," she said.![kiem]()
Fellow Miss Hull hopeful Kiem Ablett
The documentary was met with a mixed reaction on social media.
Miss Hull organiser Emma Bird admitted the documentary makers had "dumbed" down one entrant Kiem Ablett, 17, but had generally been "fair" to the girls.
Miss Skelton said she had enjoyed the experience of taking part in Miss Hull and the TV documentary.
She said: "I thought it would be fun to do and a good experience.
"I wanted to get my point across that it is a good experience to do pageants, no matter what type of person you are.
"It is not stereotypical, it is a nice thing to do for all girls, no matter how you look. It isn't all about how you look, but about personality and how you interact with people."
The Channel 4 programme filmed the girls as they talked about their dreams, hopes and aspirations as they got ready for the event, held at the Country Park Inn, Hessle, in April.
Miss Skelton watched the show with her family.
"They really enjoyed seeing me," she said.
"It was quite a shock seeing myself on television because you don't really expect it.
"I am really happy with how they showed me. I got a couple of good points across.
"My friends and family have been so nice and I'd like to thank them for supporting me."
Fellow Miss Hull hopeful Kiem Ablett
The documentary was met with a mixed reaction on social media.
Miss Hull organiser Emma Bird admitted the documentary makers had "dumbed" down one entrant Kiem Ablett, 17, but had generally been "fair" to the girls.
Miss Skelton said she had enjoyed the experience of taking part in Miss Hull and the TV documentary.
She said: "I thought it would be fun to do and a good experience.
"I wanted to get my point across that it is a good experience to do pageants, no matter what type of person you are.
"It is not stereotypical, it is a nice thing to do for all girls, no matter how you look. It isn't all about how you look, but about personality and how you interact with people."
The Channel 4 programme filmed the girls as they talked about their dreams, hopes and aspirations as they got ready for the event, held at the Country Park Inn, Hessle, in April.
Miss Skelton watched the show with her family.
"They really enjoyed seeing me," she said.
"It was quite a shock seeing myself on television because you don't really expect it.
"I am really happy with how they showed me. I got a couple of good points across.
"My friends and family have been so nice and I'd like to thank them for supporting me."