To heaven from Hull as Miss GB heads to TV dating paradise

Miss Great Britain, Zara Holland, who is hoping to find romance as a contestant on the new series of ITV's Love Island.

The 20-year-old beauty queen has been single for two years and said she is “a bit sick of going on dates and it not working out”.

Holland, who describes herself as “loud and funny, and very strong”, said she would like to “find a nice boyfriend”.

She said: “Guys go really quiet on me and don’t text back. One time I went to a party with a guy and he got back with his ex-girlfriend there. I think I attract weirdos.”

The model said she wants prospective love interests to get to know the real her, but that men do not approach her to speak to her.

“Some guys do like to send messages on Instagram just so they can say they’ve had a message from Miss Great Britain,” she said, “But I’m just a normal girl, and I think that’s part of the problem. I want guys to know me for me.”

She added: “I don’t get chatted up much, either. There was a guy the other day who said his friend fancied me, but he wouldn’t come over because he thought I’d turn him down.”

She will appear on ITVs’s Love Island, which sees singletons “marooned” together in a villa, , with presenter Caroline Flack.

The former X Factor host said she was not much of a matchmaker in the love department and added: “I wouldn’t take love advice from me, to be honest.”

Another former Miss Great Britain, Sophie Gradon, who wore the crown in 2009, is also a contestant. The 30-year-old, from Newcastle, who is now a marketing manager, famously used to date rugby player Danny Cipriani.

She said: “Suddenly I was in the papers being called a ‘Kelly Brook lookalike’, which is nice, as she’s stunning!

“My relationship with Danny was intense. I fell in absolute lust with him. He bowled me over with charm. He’s a very special man. You fall completely in love with him, and I did.”

She said her party trick is that she can “drink a lot”, adding: “I’m a Geordie. I wish I could do the splits or get my leg over my head but no, my party trick is just doing shots.”

The final couple left in the villa will win a £50,000 cash prize.