Mellor was discovered by a model agent while modelling bridal wear for a work colleague 's wife . In May 1987 she won the Miss Derby contest , qualifying her for entry to the Miss United Kingdom contest , which she won in August of that year . In the subsequent Miss World competition , Mellor placed equal tenth in the preliminary round but did not advance to the semi-final round ( top 12 ) because the rules stated that the semi-finals had to have at least one contestant from each continent , so while contestants such as Miss Nigeria ( Africa ) made it through with a score of 19 , Mellor ( with a score of 25 ) did not advance .
Miss World
Miss World 1987
Karen Mellor