London: British-born Preeti Desai, who became the first ever Miss Great Britain of Indian origin, is said to have always been the centre of attraction due to her "raven hair and exotic skin tone".
Preeti, 25, clinched the title after she got the maximum number of text messages and phone votes by readers of Sun newspaper.
"People were always telling my mum I should go into modelling, even when I was little," an excited Preeti told the newspaper.
"Not bad for a beauty contest novice whose mum, Hema, arrived in Britain after being brought up in a poverty-stricken Indian village. She arrived in the UK, unable to speak English, just before Preeti was born," the Sun reported.
"I suffered from depression due to cultural problems. After getting married, I arrived in England in 1980. I was from a village, I couldn't speak English very well and I had so many problems within the family. For instance, there were people in the family who didn't like the fact I had two daughters," Hema said.
"In our culture, when a son is born there are celebrations. But when a daughter is born people say, 'Better luck next time.' Because I had two daughters, no one would give me the time of day," she told the newspaper.
"When she (Preeti) was crowned Miss Great Britain she rang to tell me and said, 'The crown is for you.' I burst into tears. I felt as if I won that crown. I felt as if I am Miss Great Britain. She only wants to see me happy - both my girls do. They want to see me smiling and it is thanks to them I was able to overcome that dreadful illness," Hema said.
Preeti from Guisborough, North Yorkshire, won the title by replacing original winner Danielle Lloyd after she was stripped off the award for reportedly dating judge Teddy Sheringham.
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