It was hard work being on the stage to practice the catwalk and go through the routines over and over again from 9.00am to 11pm but it was worth it.

The judges were Nick Knowles, Sue Moxley, Amy Guy and Du’aine Ladejo (Gladiators), Lizzie Cundy, Rachel Rice, Tim Lichfield and Zia Chaudhary. They are really nice, friendly people. I had my interpreter with me while they asked me questions.

The competition supports the Joshua Foundation, a charity which supports children with cancer and I raised £600. I was proud to raise that amount and thank my family and friends and other people who supported the charity.
Now I am in the final Miss Birmingham 2010. 400 girls auditioned for the competition and I am in the final 23. The winner of Miss Birmingham this year will ultimately represent the city in the Miss England competition 2010! Making the final is amazing and I was pleased to find that I got through this stage of the competition. I believe I will be a great role model for the young as my disability has not stopped me from doing anything, I would love to being given a chance to represent Birmingham this year.

On 26th February I met with the other contestants for a photo shoot promoting Breast Cancer Research.

Vote for Siobhan Brindley-Lewis by text to 84205 or dial 090 1656 1559(18). For more details, visit www.missengland.info/regionals/birmingham.

Siobhan, who has had a cochlear implant for 18 years, won Miss Deaf UK “Best Evening Gown 2008”. She says that she's very happy to have a cochlear implant because she can hear everything better, e.g. music, TV, bird song, car, fire alarms, etc. It’s also helped her to improve her speech more than the hearing aid did.

She says. "Lots of people ask me questions about my cochlear implant. I advise them how much it has helped me, my hearing and my speech."

Read our earlier feature about Siobhan, here.