Glamour Gran Ann, 71, falls just short at Miss Great Britain

A 71-year-old “Glamour Gran” said “this is only the beginning” after missing out on the top spot at a Miss Great Britain beauty pageant.

Ann Marie Harper, from Ayrshire, made history as the oldest Scottish contender to reach the national final in the pageant’s 81-year history, but ultimately did not make the top five in her category.

Best known by her alias Glamour Gran Ann, the septuagenarian competed in the Ms Great Britain Classic category at the competition on Friday night.

Ann Marie Harper did not finish in the top five in her category (Ryan McDougall/PA)

PA Wire

The Classic is open to women aged 45 and over – meaning she was pitted against rivals up to 26 years her junior.

Ms Harper was ranked outside the top five with Ally Sussex from Surrey finally taking the crown after three previous attempts. The other categories on the night were Miss Great Britain and Ms Great Britain, which were won by Yazmin McClean of Belfast and Holly Pirrie of Warrington respectively.

Although she missed out on the top five, Ms Harper was given the “impact over image” award for the contest’s Classic category.

Speaking to the Press Association on Saturday, she said: “I’m still on a high, I can’t come down, it’s been absolutely wonderful.

“Everything about it was absolutely… it was just amazing, and walking on that stage was just something else.

“Being 71 years of age and being there, it was phenomenal, and more older people are coming forward and saying ‘I’m going to do that’. That makes me so happy.

“This is only the beginning.”

She added: “The beautiful girl that won it, she deserved it, she deserved every bit of it.

“We all just love each other, whoever won, it didn’t matter, it’s not about the winning it’s about the taking part.”

The beauty queen launched her own cosmetics brand aged 66, which sells a make-up palette called the Glam Goddess Collection.

She is also very active on social media, and her Instagram and TikTok pages have thousands of followers.

She presented Glamour Gran Ann as a form of joyful self-expression, free from the expectations and limitations placed on her by others.