Miss Great Britain stunned audiences after appearing to fall flat on her face during the Miss Universe 2025 national costume competition in Thailand.
Footage shows Danielle Latimer, 36, stepping onto the stage at the Impact Challenger hall in Nonthaburi wearing a look inspired by Eliza Doolittle from the Oscar-winning 1964 film My Fair Lady.
She trips as she hands out her bouquet before quickly brushing herself off, rising to her feet and shedding her coat to reveal a dazzling ball gown.
Many viewers were left fearing the contestant had injured herself – but Latimer later revealed the dramatic fall had been deliberately choreographed, symbolising Doolittle’s rise from rags to riches.
Speaking to her Instagram followers shortly after her performance Latimer said: ‘I can’t believe I just did that.
‘I’m probably going to end up on the Daily Mail for falling on stage. I hope so. I gave my best.’
Latimer then explained how she picked the costume because she identified with Eliza Doolittle’s transformation from a cockney flower seller to an elegant lady.
‘Those of you who asked me what my costume was I hope you get it. It’s very me. For those who don’t know me, I grew up in the East End of London in probably one of the most poverty stricken areas in the UK in the eighties,’ she said.
‘To be an East End cockney girl, with an East End accent who has refined herself to be on the Miss Universe stage is a representation of my transformation as a human being.’
Now in its 73rd year, the Miss Universe pageant is one of the world’s longest-running beauty competitions.
The event regularly attracts millions of viewers and often generates headlines of its own – and this year is proving no exception.
Just days ago, a video sparked controversy at this year’s event after viewers claimed it showed Miss Israel giving Miss Palestine hostile looks.
The clip went viral online after it seemed to show Melanie Shiraz, 27, glaring and rolling her eyes at Nadeen Ayoub, 27, who appeared to be standing next to her.
But Shiraz has since posted separate, ‘original footage’ from the event, showing her standing behind Ayoub and diverting her expression elsewhere.
The Israeli beauty queen has claimed the video where she appeared to give Miss Palestine the side-eye was ‘edited’ and from a ‘third-party’, and designed to intentionally mislead audiences.
In the wake of the viral clip, she said she received an onslaught of online hatred, including ‘Hitler-related comments’, resulting in her having to organise ‘heightened security’.
‘It’s not only death threats, but sexual assault threats,’ Shiraz told the New York Post. ‘I experienced antisemitism before but I didn’t think it would be this bad.’
‘Hitler should have finished the job,’ one comment from social media apparently read.
Shiraz took to Instagram to condemn the online ‘hatred’ she says she received following the clip, telling her 37,000 followers: ‘This platform is meant to empower women.
‘Using it to tear women down, sharing images without consent, and staying silent while a fellow competitor is attacked all undermine what we are meant to represent.’
