She's obviously really comfortable in front of the camera Some girls particularly do naturally just look at the camera but not as much as Sasha she obviously enjoys it You dont look 11 though Sash when are you 12? I do not look 11 I look older You know, as a lot of people say if you want to create you know, when you're older, you've got to start young um...And.. Modelling, yeah, if she starts at this age, you know, in a couple of years, or 3 years, you know she could be a name for herself and be able to choose what she wants to do Sasha's happy, yeah, Sasha loves posing in front of the camera yeah it was really good, what do you want to do when you grow up? She loves all of the attention and the attention on her and, you know, she's a big poser etc but, you know, um, I dont think there's much else I could do to make her much happier did you enjoy that? That was great yeah! It was um, the pictures are good, we got some really good pictures, yeah did you enjoy that? Yeah it was really good. What do you want to do when you grow up? I want to be a model I have blonde hair and I want to be a model I want to be a model You dont want to be anything else? Something with a few brain cells? I dont need a brain what do you want to be a model for? It's not surprising Sasha dreams of being a model her mum Jane was a model at Max Power car events at the age of 23. Much older than the girls she was modelling along side although her career was short lived, she discovered a love of the lime light that has never left her You get these sashes which I thought was amazing because Ive never had a sash and you know, you see all like the beauty queens that get their sash, they all hang them in the bedroom and you know, you see them on tv and I was like OMG I've got my own sash and you can take it home.
It was amazing! So as you can see, that one's in 2004 which is what? 4 Yearws ago Dont look too different, still got the same assets On this picture here, ive also had 2 kids by this time There's no stretch marks. Yeah, Im kind of like this hot, hot mummy this yummy mummy, this like, gorgeous babe you know, I could go on But ill just um show you my calendar as well this is 2005, so it's 3 years ago, not looking much different, you know, still the same face same hair colour, umm but I had this done just to show, show myself really because obviously, as top models they all had their own caldenars etc and I didnt so I thought, hey, I want to have my calendar hopefully Im trying to get Sasha a calendar done as well you know, Im not saying that I've got aspirations for her to be a porn star or anything you know, like that but I think Id really like Sasha to get every opportunity she can to enter as much as possible and then hopefully, you know, because she has started younger she'll get a lot further than I did cause obviously I started when I was kind of past it, if you will, You can't start at the age of 24, 25 and expect to be the next glamour model cause you know, you're kind of past it by that age but Sasha can, you know, be any sort of model at her age now, you know, the world is her oyster When Sasha and Max were growing up, Martin wasn't around much He stayed in Great Yarmouth to work when Jane moved to Burnley with the children to be near her mum Because I hardly ever saw the kids as they were growing up, when they were babies, I didn't spend anywhere near the time with them I wasnt there all the time, I was only there the odd weekend I spoilt them I've not actually tried to instill anything in our kids, Ive not Ive never put them down, Ive never said you wont be able to do that I've tried to put across to Sasha, um, who she is from my opinion, and from other peoples opinion, and she is blonde and she acts like she is blonde If I describe myself in 3 words, as 1. Pretty 2. Im blonde 3.
Im dumb Im stupid I don't get high marks Who calls you stupid? My dad said that Im stupid because my brothers better at maths than me apparently But how do you feel when he calls you stupid? I ignore him Martin works in Holl at the moment which means he's often away from home for part of the week I dont think Sasha's a particularly happy person at the moment I dont really know why Ive just seen her over the last couple of years, um, she become more and more distant from me even though she says shes ok at school, I think there's underlying problems that she wont admit to shes suffered with bullies in the past and I get the impression she's also suffering now but not admitting to it I think on the odd occasion, Sasha will sort of sit back and kind of regret that she is the centre of attention and has so much focus on her But it's short lived. As soon as someone then says to her photo shoot Sash she's shes off again, shes smiling again shes back in front of the camera and getting the attention again So um, any regrets she has is short lived. At school, they talk about me behind my back but Im not really bothered about it I tell my mum and my mum just says "just ignore them theyre just being pathetic" At school with people theres jealousy When Sasha's not at the local comprehensive school, Jane is busy planning her career in the public eye her long bleached hair, acrylic nails and fake tan glow are a carefully crafted image all of which have attracted significant press interest from tv, magazine and newspapers Sasha takes cheerleading and acting classes to help with confidence and has even taken part in the only kids beauty pagents in Britain Now Jane has ambitions to go to America Sasha's phrase is "I want to be a model" thats all, thats what she wants to be and you know, shes going the right way about it you know, so Im going to be there to support her all the way The 3 most important things to me are, um, Katie Price, Jordan, my idol my mates and, my beautiful face she's big-headed no, cause she's pretty she should be proud of it, she is pretty if you're beautiful then, you get a fit boyfriend, but then, if you're ugly, then um, you get like a bit like, sweaty boyfriend, with this big massive jam jars (glasses) on but then, I'd rather have no brains than work in McDonalds Like 18-20 years ago people cared about, like, what jobs they were getting and their education they didnt care about anything else but now they just like, they dont care they just like, think about the looks Jane had planned to enter Sasha into an American pagent later in the year but instead, she's agreed to send her to a preliminary one in Texas in a few weeks time so that we can follow her progress Hi is that Annette? "Yes" Hi it's Jane from the UK, with her 8 year old brother Max, they'll become the first ever British kids to enter a pagent in the USA. Yes, its obviously for the flower pagent in Texas on the 12th um, Im just wondering, what sort of clothes they need to wear? I think the best outcome of all of going to this pagent is getting some work over there and moving over there that would be great, so she can follow her dream and Disney club and all of that sort of thing started over there who knows? Someone can see her see her face and, you know, might get a call Hollywoods in America isnt it? So you know, see Sasha's little start on there but yeah, anything, anything she wants to do and anything that comes our way you know we'll give it a shot my daughter wants to know like what do you win? Is it a tiara? And a sash? Sasha has got the looks for the American beauty pagent and when shes all dressed up and got her make up and her hair done she does look a lot like some of the other girls I think it's like the full Barbie image and you know, she looks like one of these little Cindy dolls you play with, so yeah I think when shes all done up she'll have a really good attempt at coming somewhere with it they've all got money in their hand Yeah but some of those are from big events It's not all about winning the money you're going to get like crowns and tiaras and sash's and etc and your face will be in America, there you go are you hopeful? I proper want to win it Sasha's at her weekly cheerleading practice she's been dancing with the Shell's Belles group for 7 years for the talent round of the Dallas pagent, she's decided to do a cheerleading routine Jane has coach Devon to choreograph a winning routine for Sasha I like working with people that want something so bad that they'll do anything to get it and I just dont get the impression that she wants it if that was me and I was going to an American beauty pagent to do cheerleading and be beauty queen and wear big frocks I would be so, so, so so excited Id be like a little kid running round giggling but I just dont get the impression she wants it bad enough I think her mum wants it more than she does The Benningtons are getting read to go to their favourite Chinese restaurant going out and looking good as a family is very important to Jane what skirt have you go on? Ive got a skirt on what are you wearing? The yellow top The bottoms right you need to get your hair dried and straightened yeah well you start off ow you keep pulling me I think its important to be a child as long as possible in this day and age you cant because all of your friends and your peers are growing up and moving on a lot quicker like you know, theyre going to town a lot younger ever than I did but theyre growing up so much quicker youve got to join other wise, you know, youre held back from your friends and then it starts to get bullying and I think, you know, you've got to let them grow up at the same rate as everyone else Sasha, upstairs change now were waiting for you.
Well I had something decent on and you said it wasnt decent With Sasha dressed to impress the family are finally ready to leave Once at the restaurant, Jane encourages Sasha to practice her new cheerleading routine 2, 3, 4 go just do it go on, now. Just do it now yes, see go on do it properly You know, as I keep saying to her, dont just stand there, you know if you want to be seen you've got to do something stupid at the right time to be seen, you know if you're standing on a bus station singing, and some guy walks past, Andrew Lloyd Webber, you know you've made it, you know, its that sort of weird scenario go on, carry on do it quick you can jump better than that start it over because I didnt watch do you want me to sing the song? Jane is keen to keep up the momentum in fulfilling Sasha's dream of becoming a model Today they are off to a top agency in Manchester to see if they'll sign Sasha and Max up Boss Model agency in Manchester , which is meant to be a good one, to see if they want to take the kids on to do um, modelling Im interested to see if they want to take Sasha on but I want to get them to take both of them on and then they can earn a fortune they want to do tv advertising, which would be great, watch this space everytime you turn it on you will see their faces They're going to be worth a mint keep me in my old age I wouldn't say she's a pushy mum but she doesn't hold back she will encourage she does encourage Sasha um, but I wouldn't say she pushes her Hello morning Hi, I'm Melanie, one of the directors, hello, nice to meet you and you are?
Sasha Hello Sasha and who's this?
That's Max Hello Max He can listen to his music if he likes this is probably quite boring We're interested in modelling? They've both done beauty pagents in the UK. Max cam 3rd and um, so we're just interested in you know, modelling, tv, advertising, anything just that sort of thing, so.. Are these yours? They're both of theirs, yeah Wow You look very grown up on these don't you? How old are you? Um, 11 8 You're 12 in July so this is your currently into gymnastics? She's a national cheerleader as well Yeah? Splits, somersaults and stuff do we lighten the hair? Yeah is this actually for..The pagents that they do this? Yeah Yeah, they kind of like do all this sort of stuff but I mean its naturally, naturally like light for child modelling, she's really cute, she photographs very well shes got some nice pictures, they are kind of a little bit geared towards the beauty field if you like which is not quite the same as we do they're not linked not by any stretch and the very, very lightened hair would probably need to be toned down a bit for modelling because um, its almost too adult what are your hobbies? What are you interests? I like doing cheerleading Cheerleading? Do you? So its all kind of a bit American this theme that you're going along? Yeah it is what were doing but obviously she does it naturally anyway you know? How long have you been doing it? Cheerleading since you were what? 5? From our point of view the first thing we have to do is assess whether or not as a family, they would work cause simply because its not just the children its the parents the parents are ultimately the people our clients deal with so we like to feel that it will be a professional, nice experience for our clients so we vet the parents as much as we vet the kids I think the little boy will be a complete handful he didnt hold his attention when you talk to the daughter, the parent answers all the time, so I couldnt quite get out of the child what kind of personality she had because I was not allowed to speak to her.
As soon as I asked her a question, the mother jumped in So it kind of a little bit of pushy parent although I'm sure she's a lovely, lovely woman They just strike me as being a little bit old before their years to be honest the full head bleach, the make up, shes 11! And we like our kids to look 11 Hello. Me again We've had a chat with the bookers, they've had a look at your pictures they do think you're very pretty. If you're serious about it then You'll be serious about how you are as a nice, young, natural, natural - that's the key word - natural healthy child All we want to see is you - as a child as you should be. Just normal, fresh, clean.
No make up, no nails, no hair - nothing. It's all about as you are Yeah, its alright, its just we've been to loads of them before so its not different They just want natural kids which we knew in the first place I knew what they were going to say its not different And will you make the changes then? I don't know, ask Sasha Sasha its up to you, Im not answering Mum you're going to change my hair, not me. Yeah, but do you want to? Yeah I want to change my hair, but then you always say no. It's up to Sasha, if she wants it changed she can get it changed At work, 100 miles away in Holl, Martin has a renovation to complete so he leaves the career planning to Jane.
Yeah Jane gets excited about anything that gets her attention Jane's got this "I want people to look at me" "I want to be noticed" etc It's fine, I've got no problem with that. Im not interested. I think Jane was probably starved of attention when she was younger. I don't know, its a psychological thing.
With Jane, I think she enjoys the attention and craves it. I do kind of live in a bubble, yeah. I'd say that I just like to smile, you know, think everythings ok. And put a brave face on all the time no matter what.
I know I'm a nightmare. And I do try and not be a nightmare but I know I am. I think Martin just deals with it by ignoring me. I just go back to my bubble.
I don't know whether Martin understands me, you'll have to ask him. I don't got a clue, you know, we get on, you know, I dont know. I dont think anyone understands me. I think, you know, I dont got a clue mainly There's less than a week to go until the family jet off to Dallas.
Sasha and Jane look at photos of reigning 12 year old pagent Queen Kendall Kimbler. Kendall's mum has been enlisted to help train Sasha. She's blonde. OMG.
You dont have to do bikinis anyway. I was expecting her to be brown. But the pictures all been airbrushed, they've all been touched up the pictures. Is it exciting to see pictures of her Sash? Yeah Just so I know what she looks like.
Yeah, you know what you're looking at when you see her. She always gives a lot of pointers. She'll know what shes talking about. And that sort of thing At the end of the day, you know, she probably looks more like Sasha when she's normal.
Obviously when they're done up they're made to look like Barbies. With the attention to detail put into the American pagent look, theres lots to get ready for the 8 categories Sasha will be entering in in Dallas. Is she going to win? What a stupid question. Is Sasha going to win? Of course shes going to win.
Im not even going to continue. She's going to win. Walk straight, back straight I think Sasha's kind of expecting to come somewhere in the pagent. And she's being encouraged to think that way by Jane.
We've had the usual rows and conversations that I think Janes wrong just to tell her that you know, you'll win this or you'll do well. Because she might not and its very difficult if youre expecting something and you get shot down I dont know why winning is so important to Jane. I dont know. I cant even guess.
Sasha's ready to show Devon how far she's got with the routine for America Are we ready? Are we smiling? Shes definitely put lots of effort in. I mean I can see an improvement A big improvement. But she just needs to come out of the little shy shell she's in. Cause she does come across as quite shy.
In America, cheerleading over there, my god, embarassment is not even in it. You cant be embarrassed, and do cheerleading. She needs to come out of this little shell that she's in. And just let it go and just have a good time and smile.
And be strong and practice but yeah, she'll be alright, shes done well. She has done really well. I'm proud of her. You don't say much do you? Leaving behind a dull and rainy Burnley, the family set off for the airport.
At departures, there's just enough time for one last, quick practice. You going to practice? Just get your pom poms. Its nerve wracking Have you seen how many people are watching me? Well come on misery guts What did you say? I wasnt talking to you I know you werent talking to me but I heard you I was talking to myself. I hate the tantrums you know, I hate being a parent sometimes because you have to like shout and tell them off and its not just like dress your kids in nice clothes like Barbie dolls when you were younger and stuff like that so I think, you know the thing, I dont know, I just hate being a parent sometimes where you have to like be all authoritative and responsible and stuff Landing in Dallas, Texas, the Benningtons waste no time in getting out and about American beauty pagents are a multi-billion dollar industry with thousands held every year, girls of all ages try their luck in the uniform - big frock, big hair and heavy make up For the girls and their parents, its all about winning the sparkling crown, big cash prizes and the opportunity to go on to greater fame and fortune.
First stop in Sashas pagent transformation is shopping for a winning pagent dress. With 150,000 dresses in store, shes spoilt for choice But choosing just the right dress is crucial. It was amazing, absolutely amazing because you walk in and theres like dresses galore as soon as you hit the front doors and you know, it's like every single colour you can think of. And every type of dress you can think of short, long, big, small, everything was in there.
It was just like go in there and run for it It felt like a little kid theres no point telling you, youve just got to see it to believe it Dress heaven. So we'll use this door and this door and well just keep bringing dresses. Im going in. There we go Let me pull some more for you In the mirror you cant see her face Thats too stressful I cant control this thing It wore me out just getting that one on her We can do this all day long You see, now this is the way you can tell what it should look like once it would be hemmed when shes got her shoes on wow I love it Thats girly isnt it? Really girly and it shows off her skin really pretty too I love twirling round in it.
Reigning pagent Queen Kendall and her mum Laurie have come to meet Sasha Having never competed on this scale, Sasha will need intensive training and Laurie already has her eye on the dress. Sasha, this is Kendall she knows what she is talking about Hi sweetie! Nice gown! I like your crown.
Thank you Thats great isnt it Can I try it on? Absolutely. Is it heavy? Oh my gosh isnt that beautiful? It matches your dress how gorgeous! Its like the icing on the cake! Although Jayne and Sasha have instantly fallen in love with the pink dress, pagent pro Laurie has other ideas about which colour might suit Sasha the best Well what colour are your eyes sweetie? Green.
They're Hazel. Well, bluey-greeny Have you not looked at any green? We havent looked at green we havent tried a green So is pink not good then? Umm Pink's ok.
But
not perfect. Green would be better Ok, we have inside information, green is better Obviously, you know, its the first pagent weve done so when you get to a dress shop that size and with that many dresses but obviously when you get Laurie there who's obviously a pagent mum that knows everything that, you know, you should be doing what colours you should be wearing with her input its obviously a lot vital um, take that on board than mine any day you know, I didnt really have a clue Im open minded but Im a very pink person but Im open minded It'll be perfect because of the hazel the outline of her eyes and then when they do her makeup they'll accent that also. So she will just be she'll just pop. Ok.
I'm going to be totally and completely honest with you, I would put, if Kendall's eyes were that colour, I would put her in that dress.
Yeah that's fine. It'd need to be a bit tighter with the straps. We can fix all that, dont worry. Do you like this better or do you like the pink better? Pink.
You like the pink better? Its hard for mum because shes never worn green Mum likes pink Mum loves pink I just, you know, Im pink through and through I dont know, obviously Im not, I dont know enough about pagents really Lets just do this colour I dont really like the green dress, 'cause its like, its green and I dont like green.
Were you happy with it in the end or?? I were happy with it, because like, um, it's just a dress in the end. Just so you can have another decision to make, you just tell me which one were doing and that's fine Its great to just sort of have that input and like hand it over to her and look you are, you know you're better than me at, you're a pro, you know what you're doing its great just to hand it over. Go on and deal with it There you go Taking Laurie's expert advice, they go for the green dress. But is it a winner? Y'all come back and see us now.
We've got dresses for everybody Before they head back to their hotel for Sasha's first pagent lesson the girls do a spot of bonding in the mall That is so cute Yeah.
Thats for my dog there. This is my favourite pair of shoes. Back at the hotel, pagent mentor Kendall shows Sasha how high the standard can be at an American pagent. Oh watch her, she is good.
They're very different, because, like, I didnt know it were that serious They all look proper different when they're all made up because theyve got loads of make up on and everything Like a Barbie doll. While Sasha is left practicing, Jayne takes a sneaky peak in the pagent room with the prizes up for grabs oh and you know what, let me show you the crown real quick and a nice banner, do you see your daughter in that? I can see me in that. Hey, we have a Mrs. Division and this is the overall winners trophy that and the crown Well we cant really win that because we cant get it back on the plane.
Thats amazing. There's lots of age groups isnt there because youve all got all those Yes so theres like a most beautiful winner most handsome, little Miss Personality, Miss Congeniality, What's congeniality? How do you know what that is? Its sparkle in the eye..
Oh so just by them walking on and off Its like, wow. Are you excited? Good! I want you to be! I could picture my self. Can I just send it to her and say to her Can you see her in that?
I can see me in that I didnt want to do pagents when I was a kid Ive done modelling since, Ive worn sashes and I think for any kid that does want to do it, the thought of coming out with a sash is just amazing because like you can wear it and, you know, you show it off to your mates and that sort of thing, but, I mean, yeah, it was all for Sasha you know, the whole thing was to go for Sasha to do this pagent because that's what she wants to do and she wants to do modelling.
The whole thing was about Sasha With less than a day to go, Laurie and Kendall have very little time to teach Sasha how to perfect the all important Pagent walk. Ok, watch as she does her other circle. See how her body is? See who she's looking at? It's almost like look at the judges until I'm absolutely so uncomfortable that Im going to be the exorcist child and my head is going to spin around and then, turn my head around and look at the judges some more and that is a pagent secret. Every time you turn around and you're looking the other way you can relax your mouth.
Were going to show her things like pretty feet, the way you're supposed to stand, what to do with your legs when you're standing there, how your arms are supposed to be, the ways to cock your head, how to look at the judges, when to look at the judges what judges to look at.
There's a lot of little nuances that each one gives you a higher point on the scale of who's going to win this crown. Your head stays here ok? Youre looking over there, your body's going this way, youre looking over there. Thats it! If you can remember that you'll get it right Alright, your head, think about what you're doing with your head.
Look over there, thats it! There you go and exorcist head! Good! There's pagents for beginners and there's pagents for not beginners This is not a pagent for beginners. So she needs to kick it up and notch and she will be able to She'll do fine Keep going around I sat and watched, that was my input up and down, up and down, up and down I just sat and watched because Kendall and her mum you know, were doing it, they were amazing in all of it and there wasnt really exactly much input that I could put in because I, you know, Ive never even watched a pagent in America before, so, I have never been there, I my input would have been absolutely useless anyway nice circle. Remember your shoulders are back and your chins good. Very good.
Spending hours practicing through the next day and night Sasha works hard to get her pagent walk up to the American standard. Are you nervous for tomorrow?
No. I dont do nervous It's just crap.It's just sitting there, its boring I think winnings really important for her, Its important but its not the be all and end all. As long as she wins something I dont know While Sasha continues practicing, Jayne and Martin decide to call it a night, Today's Dallas preliminary pagent is the first step on the ladder to huge pagent acclaim and big cash prizes Competing against 19 girls in 8 categories, Sasha will have to score the highest in formal ware and talent rounds to stand a chance at winning her age group and the overall Supreme Queen title.
All over their hotel, hair is lacquered and lips are glossed as the seasoned professionals get ready to shine on stage. She is just something else, to me. So you know, she has become my hobbie I just recently gave up my title for Miss Texas Junior Teen America and in July Im going to give up my Miss Texas National America Miss Pre-Teen and I've won other titles but I dont really remember them You feel always the hurt of your child if you know, they really want to win and they hurt because they havent won um, it, thats, you know, but not to be disappointing to um just that you didnt win When I dont do very well there's normally a reason but if I feel like I've done my best, I'm always a little disappointed but I'm never like oh my gosh I didnt win and she beat me! Im going to go hurt her. No it's always just I didnt win, but, there's always next time.
The chance to impress the judges has arrived. The pagent begins with the boys competition. First round is formal wear. Let's get this party rolling, do you agree with me? Max's chances of being crowned King are looking better than ever with only two other boys entering At the end of the day, Max doesnt practice he does it when he wants to do it.
And if he doesnt want to do it he wont do it so you can get Max to walk up and down if he's in the mood for it he'll do amazingly but if he isn't there's no point in trying you might as well just leave him to go play with his Lego or something Because, on the day, he'll just blow your mind because he's just amazing I told everybody, I said, "ok, your competition is " With only minutes to go until Sasha's big moment, the girls focus on getting their hands on the Supreme Queen crown The other pagent girls they're friendly but then they were thinking on the inside of them Im going to beat you they were just like being proper friendly to you I knew that they all wanted to win I didnt get nerve wracking because I. I was just going to do what I was going to do The 11-13 year old formal wear round is the only chance the girls have to impress the judges with their choice of dress, their grace, poise and walking ability. I think obviously choosing the green dress over the pink um, with obviously Laurie's input was a better move than the pink one because we had to go for a dress that did make her look older and it was a good dress and good colour I dont like it but it was a good choice She did her best, she looked good and it showed. Next up, is the girls talent round.
It's now Sasha's chance to impress with a high powered cheer routine. Great job!
Ok! Well our audience, that concludes the competition That whole ___ was just like amazing! It was good and Max's was good. And everyone's faces were just like You know all the other girls that did the dancing was like oh, my god! Its over and done and over It were the best dance Ive ever done especially at the end where I did the splits!
Yeah their faces were just like.. Split yourself in half.
Right and your red dress crowning! Lets see, lets see Lets hope! Lets hope for the best! Just get that on! Max and Sasha's, well, both performances I cannot fault we spent so long trying to get it just right I dont know, its just like finally come together, you know the performances were amazing absolutely amazing! You couldnt fault either of them Max sang like you know, sang like all time. His practicing was horrendous, absolutely horrendous But when theyre out there they were just they're amazing! Theyve got trophies coming You can see they've got trophies coming But its whether she gets overall Grand Supreme Everyone did the dance and everyone was like slow dancing and then Sasha was like Yeah, done.
Right! Like just do that again!
Amazing weren't it? That dance? Yep good, very good I was absolutely like oh my gosh shes really done it If the kids came out with not getting anything that would be so fixed. Unbelieveable.
Because everyone knows from watching them that they've obviously got something Max can't not because he was the only one in flower power and the only one in talent so hes got two at least I think that the fact that hes got new mates that hes never met before,
He's in a strange country, he wasnt embarrassed to get up there They all said he must have balls of steel oh yeah, Max is going to be well known now. The judges have deliberated and the winners have been chosen Up first are the boys as the only participant in most of the categories, Max is a guaranteed winner Most Handsome, goes to Max Bennington! Max Bennington! We knew hed come out pretty good.
