A POLITICS graduate is stepping out of her comfort zone in a bid to be crowned Miss Universe Great Britain.

Carla Beaton, 25, will be one of dozens of young women looking to claim the prestigious title and go on to represent Great Britain at Miss Universe later this year.

Miss Universe Great Britain is being held in Newport in July, with Carla hoping to fly the flag for East Lothian.

The former Yester Primary School and Knox Academy pupil said: “I have never been the most confident person. In order to succeed in life, you need to have that confidence. I am a bit unusual in that I identify things that scare me and then I just do them.

“After Miss Universe Great Britain, I will do something else that scares me.

“They are not called beauty pageants anymore and it is not just about that. I’m only five-foot-four-inches and not really skinny. They don’t really care about that anymore – it is more about who is going to make a good ambassador at Miss Universe.”

Carla, who was brought up in Gifford but now lives in Edinburgh, has already taken part in Miss International United Kingdom and Miss Intercontinental United Kingdom.

However, Carla, who is a parliamentary aide for David Warburton, MP for Somerton and Frome, and was previously parliamentary assistant for Brian Whittle MSP, described Miss Universe as “the biggest” pageant.

Carla pupil was quick to highlight that pageants involved much more than meets the eye.

She said: “It is a three-day event in Wales. The first day is an empowerment day and it is all about empowering women. On the first day, you do various activities, like walking on broken glass, breaking boards with your bare hands and bending steel rods with your neck.

“It is to try to show you can do things that you might think you cannot do.

“Then, the next day, there is a ‘Bring a Bra Ball’. Every guest needs to bring a bra and it goes to disadvantaged women in Africa.

“That is in aid of A-Sisterhood, a charity of Miss Universe Great Britain which involves female genital mutilation, to stop acid attacks in India and just various female-focused charities.

“On the third day is the final, which involves an interview, swimwear and evening gown.”

Former winners of Miss Universe Great Britain include Dee-Ann Rogers, who represented Anguilla in the heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, and musician Jeanette Akua.

Carla said: “I don’t really think of myself as anyone particularly special. It would mean a lot to me to win it.

“I’m not the most confident person and it would be a huge privilege.

“I’ve worked hard academically and professionally as well and want to inspire people to do their best and the sky is the limit.”