‘Combat Barbie’ vows to assist comrades

Miss World call-up for soldier

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Miss England, Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge, at the launch

THE soldier girl drafted in at the 11th hour to compete for the Miss World title yesterday vowed to do her bit to help charities working with British servicemen and women.

Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge, who earned the nickname “Combat Barbie” for her actions during a posting to Basra in Iraq, said her Army colleagues treat her like “one of the lads”.

“They see me without make-up and with my hair scraped back,” she said.

Yesterday she joined Miss Scotland, Katharine Brown, and 118 other beauty queens for the contest’s launch at the Grosvenor House Hotel, in London’s Park Lane.

L/Cpl Hodge said: “In Miss World, we do lots of charity work and it’s something I feel very strongly about. It’s not just Help for Heroes, but people like SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families’ Association) who a lot of people sometimes forget about.”

The 22-year-old believes her military experience can help her in this year’s contest. L/Cpl Hodge had been due to be sent to Afghanistan before she was declared the new Miss England.

Rachel Christie, 21, relinquished the title to concentrate on clearing her name following an alleged assault of another beauty queen at a Manchester nightclub.

Backing

Meanwhile, Miss Scotland has revealed that tennis ace Andy Murray is backing her bid to become Miss World.

Miss Brown, 22, who went to school at Dunblane with Murray, said she was in regular contact with him on Facebook.

The actress and tennis coach said: “Last time I spoke to him he’d just won a tournament and I said congratulations, but he was like ‘No, congratulations to you Miss Scotland’.”

The Miss World Final in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 12.