A COMEDIAN and presenter from Reading has been fast-tracked to the finals of this year’s Miss England contest.
Elvira Styles has to wait until May to find out if she will go on to represent the nation in next year’s Miss World contest, where she could win a £78,000 ($100,000) prize, and have opportunities to champion her charities.
The 22-year-old was born in Italy, moved to Reading when she was two, and studied to become a dental nurse at the University of Portsmouth.
“I loved working with the amazing staff of dentists’ and dental hygienists,” she said.
“Helping patients transform their smiles made me so happy whilst working as a dental nurse.”
She added: “I love teeth. People’s personalities are shown through their teeth and their smile.”
But the lockdown phase of the covid pandemic saw her take a different direction, using purdah to explore her comedic creativity. A series of skits about dentistry were posted on social media platforms and were hugely popular.
“I went viral many times from my hilarious hook ending dental skits, as I mastered the ability to bring humour and comedically exaggerate mundane experiences,” she says. “I now work full-time creating content online as I have now grown an audience of 600,000 people who I also inspire to step out of their comfort zone and be creative too.”
Her journey to internet sensation has been quite something, by her own admission, she was “really, really shy – having a career on social media was the last thing I ever thought”.
She started making simple tutorials and videos, which saw her grow in confidence – “I love making people smile, my goal is to bring joy and make people happy.”
Their popularity means she now wants to give back.
“I want to encourage people to try new things, to empower and inspire others to be creative and grow in confidence,” she said.
Elvria is the fourth child of six – she has one brother and four sisters.
“I come from a wonderful and loving big family,” she said. “We are all very close and I am one of the middle children as I am the fourth child. “
Now though she is setting her sights on joining a slightly bigger family – if she wins the pageant.
“I applied to see what happens, it’s now put me on this journey,” she said.
Away from social media, and thinking about winning Miss England, Elvira is a green belt in karate.
“I love pushing myself to my limits and seeing how I can better myself both mentally and physically and I encourage people who look up to me to do the same.”
The Miss England finals take place over Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17.
