A stunning aerospace engineer from Lancashire has been crowned as the first redheaded Miss England.
Jessica Gagen, 26, has openly spoken about the bullying and teasing she received in her childhood for being ginger.
She says that she wants to use her new crown to empower redheads and encourage young girls to consider a future in STEM careers.
Jessica, an aerospace engineer, missed out on the crown last year but said earlier this year when telling her Instagram followers she was trying again: “There has never been a ginger Miss England, and there may never be a ginger Miss England – but I am happy to be the person to smile in the face of defeat once more if it means I can empower the redheads being bullied in school along the way.”
Over the course of her Miss England journey, she ran consecutive 5km runs for 96 days in fancy dress to raise money for charity.
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She’s also said she wants to represent ‘all of the redheads who feel self conscious about their pale attributes’.
Upon being crowned Miss Lancashire earlier this year, Jessica said: “This little sash not only qualifies me for this year’s Miss England final, but allows me to further reach out to teen girls who may otherwise go uninformed about the fabulous opportunities available to them in engineering and aviation careers. Empowerment, education and resilience. Redheads, we’re one step closer.”
She has also posted, before she was named Miss England: “My aim in gaining the title remains the same as it was last year – to use the platform (who’s outreach is mostly female), to further educate girls about engineering, it’s variety of disciplines and the fabulous career opportunities the subject can lead to.
“If I’m successful, not only will I become the very first Miss England to hold a degree in aerospace engineering, but I’ll be the first Miss England ever to possess natural ginger hair.”
Speaking of her childhood bullying, she wrote: “If this is happening to you, hear me out when I say that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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“Just because it’s happening now, doesn’t mean it’ll happen for the rest of your life! By the end of secondary school I thrived; I was surrounded by lovely people, got a cracking set of grades and excelled in sport – and you can too!
“One bad chapter doesn’t have to last the rest of the book. Keep on reading.”
Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
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Data reveals Manchester hotel prices have ALREADY surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates
Emily Sergeant
Manchester hotel prices have apparently already surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates, some new data has revealed.
Of course, absolutely nothing is set in stone yet and we are still yet to receive any form of announcement.
But with rumours having been swirling for months now that Oasis will be touring again in 2027, and several videos shared on the band’s social media platforms this week also hinting at that, it’s been revealed that searches for ‘when are Oasis tickets going on sale?’ have soared by 5,000% in the last seven days alone.
After recent data has pointed towards soaring searches for tickets, the experts at SeatPick decided to analyse the average cost of accommodation in Manchester on the suspected concert nights in June 2027 to uncover if prices have surged along with the searches.
Data reveals that Manchester hotel prices have already surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates / Credit: The Manc Group | Simon Emmett (Press Picture)
And lo and behold, it appears that they have.
The ticketing platform has revealed that hotel prices have surged by up to 462% during Oasis’ rumoured concert nights in Manchester.
The rumoured weekend date of 19 and 20 June has experienced the most noticeable price surge – with a two-star hotel costing an average of £216 for just one overnight stay.
The data also reveals that the rumoured finale on the 27 June has just a £95 difference between two-star hotels (£200) and five-star hotels (£295).
“Our analysis uncovered an enormous markup for local accommodation on nights that Oasis is rumoured to perform in Manchester,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO at ticket platform SeatPick.
“Being aware of these accommodation costs and additional expenses can help fans plan and avoid being caught off guard by inflated prices on concert nights.
“To find the best deals on hotels, concertgoers should scan budget chains in the city or look slightly outside of the centre in hotspots served by local bus routes or regional trains, such as Salford and Trafford.
Daisy Jackson -
19th October 2022 
