Bradford girls will get the chance to become Miss England with a major relaunch of the controversial glamour competition.

Next year heats will be expanded to cover about 70 towns and cities across the country including Bradford

But organisers want to keep the competition upmarket by saying no to anyone who has done topless or nude modelling before.

The modelling company staging the contest is convinced its updated look for 2006 will attract record numbers of wannabes looking to launch a glamourous new career.

Interest has been slowly increasing from about ten contestants in 2001 to 25 in 2002 and 40 will take part in this year's final at the weekend, including a British Iraqi Muslim girl from Nottingham.

Bradford women aged between 17 and 24 on November 1, 2006, can apply for next year's heats but they must not have done any topless or nude modelling.

Lucie Hide, of contest organiser Model UK, said starting a career with the Miss England competition - which would no longer feature a swimsuit section - was better than some of the "dodgy" firms around.

She said: "There is no standing around being humiliated in bikinis.

"This is a prestigious competition, the girls' families will be proud of them and we are here to offer our experience and guidance right from the very start.

"That must be better than some of the dodgy ways into the business."

She said she expected total newcomers and girls who have had some experience would be wanting to enter.

"There will be girls who have not done it before and will be petrified and there are others with experience who want to advance their careers," she said. "There will be many agents and photographers around and it is a great way to meet people in the business."

The 2005 final will be held in Liverpool on Friday and Saturday. Its 40 finalists include women from York, Sheffield and Leeds.

The winner will receive a prize package valued at £12,000, including a five-star holiday in Cyprus and £5,000 to spend on clothes.

They also get the chance to compete in the Miss World competition, which offers a £100,000 prize.

Lucie said the resurgent interest was due to the huge numbers of modelling opportunities around in television, newspapers and magazine.

She said many girls would see it as a possible start to a career in television presenting too.

"The competition will be a little bit different, classy and more fun. There is no swimwear and no baton twirling," she added. "It is a good way to boost confidence too."

She said recent interest had been huge.

"We had around 158 entries over the weekend when girls must have had the time to log on to our website and read about it," she said.

To enter girls can log on

to www.modeluk.com or call (01273) 764730. The venue for the Bradford heat has yet to be decided.