Ladette to Lady - Episode 5
24 October 2006
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It is now the final week at Eggleston Hall and with just three ladettes left the competition is stronger than ever. There has been a huge transformation in the girls over the last five weeks and now that it is coming to the end they definitely feeling the pressure.Now they face the ultimate challenge: to ‘come out’ at a Debutantes’ Ball. Wearing dresses they have made Eggleston Hall the ladettes will each make an entrance and be judged on their poise, grooming, confidence and elocution by a selection of aristocrats including Lady Alexandra Roche, Sir David Roche and Sir Tobias Clarke. The ladettes will come out alongside seven real debutantes and failure to measure up will result in public humiliation. It’s the final test of whether Finishing School has worked and at the end of it one of the ladettes will be declared the winner.To be a plausible debutante each girl has huge obstacles to overcome. Last week Essex hairdresser Frances Rowe flashed her breasts and was involved in an ugly catfight; her temper is never far from the surface. Former binge-drinker Victoria Jenkins is still struggling to pronounce even the most basic vowel sounds and shows little grasp of the necessary etiquette. Tomboy Clara Mayer has blossomed into a beautiful young woman at Eggleston Hall, but so far she has failed to find favour with the staff. And in addition to preparing for the Ball, the girls must pass exams in all subjects in order to graduate. They’ve got just four days left to perfect their flower-arranging, elocution, deportment, and to make a gigantic seven-tiered cake which will be on display at the ball threatening to collapse spectacularly if they get it wrong. . An evening out sees the girls very proud of themselves until Liz Brewer intentionally puts them down in front of the esteemed company. Frances is unable to see the positive purpose of this goading and exclaims: ‘I just wanted to knock her out! She is an evil woman.’At a civilised meal each girl vows to make this experience change their life for the better and Frances, who is notorious for exposing her surgically enhanced breasts even says, ‘I will not flash my boobs ever again’, a claim that is met with both glee and scepticism by the teachers.The Ball is being held at a grand country house in North Yorkshire. As the first debutantes make an entrance the staff are in despair: the competition looks insurmountable. But as the ladettes make an entrance in their stunning Lindka Cierach balldress they are truly unrecognisable. The girls have performed better than any of the teachers expected and the aristocrats are suitably impressed. And after five weeks the people who sent them to Eggleston Hall in the first place – their parents – arrive at the Ball to behold the finished articles. After emotional family reunions, the girls each deliver an after-dinner speech.Each ladette overcomes her nerves and shows improved charisma and confidence in front of a large crowd.It becomes time for a decision to be made and after a long discussion with many disagreements Gill Harbourd makes her choice. There is elation and disappointment as the winner is revealed but each ladette remains adamant they will not revert back to their former lifestyles.Victoria Jenkins plans to retake her A levels so that she can apply to nursing college. Frances has decided to become a recruitment consultant. And Clara Mayer has decided to become a chalet girl.0Comments | Be the first to comment!
