No.1 for Interviews - Katharine Brown
Katharine Brown

‘I don’t find it easy to trust people now’ - Current Miss Scotland, Katharine Brown, has just been awarded the title of Miss UK. Here she tells Emma Hayley Dixon about her hard-earned rise to the top…

Katharine Brown, 22, is not merely just your typical beauty queen. She played tennis for Scotland from a young age and is close friends with Andy Murray. She has modelled in London and attended acting school in New York and has even set up meetings with the government to discuss how to improve sports for kids in Scotland. Katharine is a lady who knows what she wants from life and is not afraid to take a leap of faith in order to get it. Here she talks to No.1 about trust, friendships, fame and why dating just got harder...
 
Congratulations on winning yet another title – how does it feel to be crowned Miss UK?
I feel really proud and honoured to be not only Miss Scotland but also Miss United Kingdom. It’s absolutely amazing, I don’t actually have the words to describe how happy I am! I can’t take the smile off my face!

What made you first enter Miss Scotland?
I really wanted to be an ambassador for Scotland and it was a new challenge in my life. It was something that, if I was to win, would be with me forever. I’d be able to tell my kids and grandkids. Also, I’m very sporty, so I want to use my title to promote sport and the importance of exercise.
 
Had you modelled before winning the title?
I was a tennis player for Scotland since age eight, and when I was 14 I was scouted by London modelling agency, Storm. Then when I was 15 I was scouted by another agency, Premier. So after I finished my Standard Grades I stopped playing tennis because I thought, ‘What an opportunity to model in London!’ That was something that, at the time, was so huge to my family and I. So I moved to London when I was 16 to model. But then it turned out I got more involved with acting and ended up moving to New York. I studied at the New York Film Academy. But I really missed Scotland so I moved back home.

Moving to London at such a young age must have been scary?
I moved to London at 16 years old with £40 in my bank account and a tiny little suitcase! I didn’t know anybody, I didn’t have any friends, nothing. I literally just got off the train – it sounds like a movie! I just worked really, really hard, made friends, got a flat and made some money. I made good money when I was younger, and I loved modelling but I really wanted to act.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to get into acting so I focused on that and it went really well. And then being in New York to act was like being in a theme park! Everything about New York fits me like a glove, it’s very exciting! I was just there for Fashion Week. Scotland is my heart but New York is my favourite city in the world.

What exactly does representing Scotland and the UK as a whole involve?
There are various different things you do. One of the main things is going to China to represent in Miss International. It’s so fulfilling because you work with so many charities. I work with Children First, and Help for Heroes, Breast Cancer Awareness and Limelight, which is a music charity. It’s great knowing that you are doing positive things for the country and you’re making young kids happy when you meet them. For me, as an individual, I’ve certainly grown as a person and I appreciate everything a lot more.

I take my role as Miss Scotland and Miss United Kingdom with respect and appreciation. I really want to do my best with the titles and be remembered as a young girl who worked hard and was enthusiastic. I’ve got meetings with the government to discuss what we can do with the future of sport in Scotland – so it’s all really good! I would never in a million years have gotten to where I am today without sport. Sport teaches you dedication, enthusiasm, focus and drive. It also teaches you to be independent, loyal and very respectful of other players. One of the most important things it teaches you is to lose yet keep going. Although I won Miss Scotland, I have lost so many tennis matches and modelling jobs. I’m like every other young person out there, trying to make their way in the world.

Knowing that pageants involve posing in bikinis – do you have to be very strict with your diet?
I would describe my lifestyle choice in relationship to food and exercise as... basically nothing in excess. I eat a lot of food, but it’s healthy. I go to the gym once at least every three days. It keeps me focused when I’m in gym mode, it makes everything tick over more easily.

What’s it like suddenly experiencing fame?
I don’t find it easy to trust a lot of people. I’ve got the same friends I’ve had since I was four years old and I’m almost 23. I’m not one of these girls who has loads of mates, I just have a few close friends who are like sisters to me who I love and I have really strong relationships with them.

When it comes to guys it can be difficult to know if they want to hang out with you or if they want to hang out because of everything that comes along with being Miss Scotland. But I get along with everyone and I’m just myself around people. You can’t make everyone like you, you can only be yourself and if people receive you well then that’s brilliant. People who are smart know when you’re being fake so I avoid it. I’m very aware if someone is being funny with me, I’ll just think in my head, ‘I don’t mind, that’s your prerogative’ and just get on with my life. You can’t worry about what people think, if you know you’re a good person and only want good things for other people you can’t really go wrong.

Your name was linked to Andy Murray when he split with his girlfriend – does that kind of attention from the tabloids get you down?
I never talk about or comment on the people I know well. So when stories come out about me and a guy, the newspapers are never going to get a response from me. That’s something personal. You have to separate your public and private life. You can’t talk about guys that you’re with or not with because then you just become a gossip column girl. I don’t want to be that girl!

Dunblane was brought to the forefront of the media after the terrible tragedy of 1996. Yet you and Andy are experiencing so much success and representing Dunblane in such a positive way, is it important to you to make the town proud?
Yes. I feel like… [pauses] it’s actually something that’s a bit too difficult to talk about, so I won’t go into it. But yes, it really feels great to be making my town proud.

At what point did you think, ‘I’ve made it!’?
There have been a few things! Probably when I was in New York and met Gerard Butler. He said to me “Oh hi, you’re Miss Scotland.” That was quite cool!

Have you had any moments when you were really awestruck?
I don’t really get starstruck because I don’t think it’s very cool [laughs]. But I want to meet President Obama and shake his hand.
 
What are your career hopes for the future?
I hope to be in a film. That’s pretty much it.

Whose career do you aspire to emulate?
Acting is all about the choices you make. Rachel McAdams, Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz are the actresses that I would aspire to be like. They’re great women, smart and have a lot of dignity and self respect as well as confidence. The thing I’ve learned in life is the sexiest thing is confidence. Not overly confident though, you can’t get cocky and think you’re something that you’re not. But it’s important to believe in yourself.

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