Meet our Face of Gloucestershire 2009 winners

There were tears of joy and shrieks of delight at GL1 on Saturday as the Face of Gloucestershire reached its exciting finale. Powerlifting champion Joe Ballinger was crowned the new male Face of Gloucestershire and student Samantha Swinford, 18, from Hucclecote, was crowned the female winner.

Samantha, who finished her A levels this year, is now taking a year out to pursue a modelling career. She said: "I wanted to show a size 10 or 12 can be beautiful and that you can achieve just as much as a skinny model."

Joe, 19, from Winchcombe, has seen his year go from strength to strength after emerging victorious at the grand finale of the competition.

More than 750 people turned out to watch the former Cleeve School pupil power his way to success on the catwalk. The teenager was crowned winner of the men’s category after the decision was thrown over to the crowd because judges could not choose between him and fellow contestant Luke Tremlett. Excitement reached fever pitch when the audience had to cheer the loudest for the one they wanted to win.

The male and female victors, who each received a trophy, have won a year’s contract with London-based modelling agency Rah Productions. They will be the face of Gloucestershire Media, publishers of the Echo and The Citizen, and Blushes for a year. The pair also won a £200 beauty hamper from Cedars and a year’s membership of GL1.

This was not the first success of the year for Joe, who is going to study sport coaching at UWIC, in Cardiff in September. The sporty teenager won the European power lifting championships in France at the end of May. He said he was delighted to be crowned the Face of Gloucestershire. “It has been a great experience and I’m so glad to be able to take up the opportunity,” he said. “Now I’ve got the chance to go on and do modelling. “I like showing off and being in front of the camera. It would be incredible to have a career in modelling.”

The glitzy evening, which had a ‘Fashion Rocks’ theme, saw main sponsors Blushes showcasing their cutting-edge hair design and Rah Productions choreographing the show. Beat boxing sensation Duke entertained the audience with dance group Sculpture Motion. One of the four judges, Paul Swaby, from Rah Productions, said: “As always people have caught my eye this year. The winners have most definitely got a future in modelling.”

Kerry Stoddart, advertising director at Gloucestershire Media, said: “I was prepared for an outstanding night but it has exceeded my expectations. “The finalists were stretched out of their comfort zones and the two winners deserve to hold the title of Face of Gloucestershire

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PICTURE GALLERY FROM THE FINAL