JOANNE Weatherstone is a successful beauty therapist with her own salon. But she says her life could have turned out quiet differently, had she not been thrust into the limelight in 1985 by being crowned Miss York.

"I was very shy at that age," she said. "Being Miss York gave me a lot of confidence, and also an interest in beauty therapy."

She went to the Yorkshire College of Beauty Therapy in Leeds, worked for a while in Leicestershire before returning to York, where she owns the Select salon at the Marriott Hotel.

Joanne was speaking after it was announced that the Miss York event was being revived. A contest is due to be staged at York Racecourse as part of a black tie dinner, including live music and disco.

The event will raise funds for the Woodlands Respite Care Centre in York, which wants to expand its accommodation for sufferers of multiple sclerosis - said to affect more women than men with some sufferers as young as 20.

Prizes so far include a one-year modelling contract with premier Sheffield agency, DK Model Management, while Alquimia Spa of Stonegate will provide a makeover for the winner's appearance in Miss England. The "crown" is being designed and made by Jo Bagshaw of York, with York College HND fashion students designing and making the sash.

The event will not include a swimwear section, as was wrongly reported in last Saturday's paper. For more details, log on to www.missengland.info, and to enter, log on to www.eventsconnect.co.uk

Joanne, whose surname was Snowball until she married Army officer Ian Weatherstone, and who has a 16-month-old son, Samuel, is backing the Miss York revival. "It's a bit of fun," she said. "Whether it's very PC these days I don't really know, but if girls want to do it, why not?"

Joanne, who lives at North Duffield, near Selby, said that after winning York, she went on to a national heat, and was taken down to St Ives in Cornwall to be filmed atthe side of a hotel pool with other contestants. She failed to progress any further, but wasn't too disappointed - unlike some of the other contestants who got very upset.

We would like to hear from other former Miss Yorks. If you once won the crown, please email mike.laycock@ycp.co.uk, or call 01904 567132.

Updated: 09:55 Wednesday, February 23, 2005