'I'm a size 16 single mum-of-five - I get trolled for modelling but I love it'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A single mum-of-five, Leanne Carroll always felt concious about her weight and rarely got glammed up to go out. The 36-year-old, from Droylsden, had never considered modelling until her dance group held a photoshoot and she realised she loved posing for the camera.

The mum, who cares for her youngest son with autism and ADHD, decided to set up a modelling Instagram account and was quickly contacted by photographers from across the region. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Leanne said she was initially apprehensive to do a professional shoot as she wasn’t used to seeing women like her in the modelling industry.

But with each session she developed a newfound confidence – one that led her to competing in beauty pageants all over the UK. “I kept being emailed by different studios and for a long time I thought it would be brilliant to do,” she said. “But as a size 16 with stretch marks and a woman of colour with curves, I didn’t see women like me in photos or as a model figure.

I didn’t feel flattering. “I spoke to a lady on Instagram who was a former international glamour model and now runs a modelling studio in Stalybridge.