The choice is yours as the voting starts

The finalists will need to strut their stuff like the professionals.

Hopeful models are one step closer to fulfilling their dream. Voting for the first round of the highly anticipated Face of Exeter’s Princesshay competition is now open.

The Princesshay shopping centre has teamed up with the Express and Echo and Mid Devon Gazette to find a male and a female with personality and presence to represent it for a year. Hundreds of people, aged between 16 and 30, from Exeter, Mid, East and West Devon put themselves forward for the glamorous roles. Andrew Uglow, of Pyramid Torbay, photographed each contestant, who is featured in this supplement and on the Face of Exeter’s Princesshay website www.faceofexeter.co.uk. Now it’s up to our readers to decide who should make it through to the semi-final. You can cast your all-important vote by text or entry form, enclosed in this supplement.

It’s all about the number of votes you have so entrants must ensure they get their friends and family to vote for them using the text number or voting coupons in paper to secure their place in the semi final. Based on reader votes, contestants will be narrowed down to 28 semi-finalists, 14 males and 14 females, plus a male and female wild card entry, picked by the judges. The judging panel will meet the semi-finalists on November 3rd in Princesshay centre management offices, before making their selection of six females and six males for the final 12.

On November 12th, the chosen 12 finalists will undergo a personal styling session with Chantelle and will be dressed in some fashionable outfits from Princesshay’s retailers as well as being mentored throughout the day by new judge for this year’s competition, Bethany Rose Harrison, who made it through to the semi-finals as one of the top three girls in the BBC show ‘So you think you can dance’. The finalists will then feature in a catwalk show in The Southgate Hotel Exeter in the evening. Each finalist will ‘strut their stuff’ in front of friends, family and the judges before the two winners – one male and one female – are announced as the new Face’s of Exeter’s Princesshay.

Not only will the top male and female represent the city’s award-winning shopping centre for a year by taking part in exciting events but the prize also includes an amazing £500 each to spend in Princesshay’s top retail outlets, a session with a top professional stylist and personal shopper Chantelle Znideric from Topstylista, a photo shoot with a professional fashion photographer and also an exclusive picture spread in the Express and Echo and the Mid Devon Gazette.

Wayne Pearce Princesshay Centre Director said, “We’re thrilled with the response to this year’s Face of Exeter’s Princesshay competition. We are also very impressed with both the female and male entries. The standard has been great. We’re looking forward to seeing who the readers vote for, before we select the winners from the final 12 in November.”

“This competition is a perfect stepping stone for anyone who aspires to be a professional model. The judges are looking for personality and confidence. Modelling is not just about good looks and specific shapes and sizes, but about character and individuality. You could be just what we are looking for.”