Sisters who struggled with bullying now in running for £10,000 modelling contract

Published on Friday 8 May 2009 09:11

WHEN school bullies tormented and harassed young Lianne Keegan, driving her to pour out her feelings in a diary of despair, her little sister was always there for her.

And when Kimberly suffered a series of unexplained strokes that left one half of her face paralysed, there was always Lianne to support her through it.

Both spent their early teenage years struggling to cope. But at least they had each other to help them through their pain.

Now, however, the devoted sisters have dramatically cast their family loyalties aside – and are embroiled in a no-holds-barred 'catfight' over who is the prettiest.

For after years of trying not to draw attention to themselves – Lianne in fear that she might be bullied again and Kimberly because of the impact of her childhood strokes – the pair have cast their insecurities aside in the hope of winning an online competition search for the next 'Jordan' style glamour girl.

Unknown to each other, both entered the Scotland-wide contest hopeful of snatching the top prize – 10,000 and a modelling contract. Now the sisters have each won their way through to the final stages – beating hundreds of other entrants.

The fact that they even thought to enter is remarkable – for there was a time when Lianne, now 23 and Kimberly, 21, could not bear to draw any more attention to themselves than necessary.

"I suppose doing this is my way of getting 'revenge' on the people who made my life so miserable at school," says Lianne. "I want them to see me now and show them that what they did to me was wrong.

"I'd love to win this contest but even if I don't I'm definitely going to try to get into glamour modelling – Jordan is my idol – that would really show them."

Lianne was 11 when her distressing story of abuse at the hands of bullies at Hailesland Primary School in Wester Hailes was revealed by the Evening News, in a diary that catalogued every punch, kick and threat.

Her entries spanned several weeks and made shocking reading, alerting parents across the city to the scale of bullying going on behind the school gates.

It was a time before city schools had devised anti-bullying strategies – and Lianne's agonising plight raised awareness of the toll the name-calling, violence and threats were taking on the youngster.

One entry in particular, dated Wednesday, October 9, 1996, revealed a shocking scale of abuse. "Boy E spat on me," she wrote, "he pointed a toy gun and said 'I wished this gun had bullets in it, so that I can shoot you'.

"Boy F stabbed a pencil into my side. I told him to stop it, but he done (sic) it again."

The diary included comments from her despairing mum, Marie, who wrote: "No-one understands what I go through with Lianne after all this, such as not eating, crying all night, frightened to go to school."

The bullying continued when Lianne went to Wester Hailes Education Centre and only stopped when her family moved to West Pilton Rise and she switched to Broughton High School.

"If it wasn't for my mum and my sister being there for me, I'd never have got through it all," says Lianne, who works at the Celtic Shop in Frederick Street.

"They helped me win back my confidence – or else I could never have considered anything like glamour modelling."

But while Lianne was battling through her personal bullying nightmare, her little sister was struggling to cope with her own problems.

Kimberly was 11 when she suffered a series of strokes, leaving the left side of her face numb and paralysed.

"I was just standing having a chat with my mum when my face suddenly twisted," she recalls.

"We didn't even know it was a stroke at first. The doctors thought it might be Bell's Palsy and that it would go away – by the time they realised it was a stroke, they reckoned I'd had around three."

Kimberly was left unable to move the left side of her face – she still can't frown – and when she smiled her left eye closed.

Bizarrely, it's a cosmetic anti wrinkle treatment typically associated with 'frozen faced' celebrities that has helped her find her smile again.

"I have regular Botox injections," she laughs. "It actually helps stimulate the muscle so my eye stays open when I smile!"

But she was still suffering from a lack of confidence when chance meetings with the Sugababes and former Liberty X and Big Brother star Michelle Heaton finally persuaded her to shed her fears.

"I met Michelle Heaton one day when she was visiting Radio Forth. She called me over and she started talking about how I looked, saying I had great bone structure and a beautiful face. I didn't know what to say, it was so unexpected.

"Then I met the Sugababes when they appeared at Murrayfield, and Keisha from the band said the same thing.

"It was a huge confidence boost."

Kimberly, of Waverley Park, was so inspired by their support that she had already considered putting together a modelling portfolio when she spotted the Ubergirl online model competition.

Unknown to her, Lianne had seen the same appeal for glamorous Scottish girls to post their pictures onto its website with the chance of winning a coveted model contract and 10,000.

"I didn't know that Kimberly had entered, and she didn't know about me," explains Lianne. "The first we knew we were competing against each other was when we both got letters at the same time to say we were through to the next round.

"Every day from now until August, a girl leaves the competition if they don't have enough votes. So we're driving everyone we know mad trying to get them to vote for us."

Which means mum Marie is caught in the middle – with both daughters pleading with her to vote for them by mobile phone to ensure they aren't 'evicted' before the final in Glasgow in August.

"It's costing me a fortune to keep entering but I don't mind because it's wonderful to see them so full of confidence," says Marie, 48. "They've been through so much – they both deserve to win."

Even if she doesn't win, Lianne is determined to pursue her dream to become the next 'Jordan'.

"I want to get into the glamour industry and I've already done some 'implied topless' photos," says Lianne. "Mum wasn't in favour of it at first, but now she's seen the pictures she feels better because they're really nice.

"I'm going to wait until I've got a few more then I'll send them off to FHM and Nuts.

"But right now I just want to win this competition and show everyone that it doesn't matter what the bullies do or say to you, that you can get through it."

You can vote for the sisters at www.ubergirl.co.uk or by calling 0901 307 1177. Votes cost 50p.

A GLAMOROUS CAREER

THERE was a time when the words 'glamour model' meant either page 3 tabloid topless or Playboy centrefold, a stint lolling over the bonnet of the latest saloon at a car show and the possibility of marrying a footballer.

And for some, it could be the first slippery steps towards a career in under-the-counter pornography.

Certainly aspiring to be a glamour model was not a typical career choice for 'nice' girls.

But today's glamour model industry has boomed as the result of lads' mags such as FHM and Nuts.

And while the fashion industry has embraced stick thin models, the glamour industry has become a vehicle for the more pneumatically-enhanced girls to show off their assets.

For some it has been a launchpad to greater fame: Jordan, aka Katie Price, Danielle Lloyd and Jodie Marsh, have evolved from scantily-clad photo spreads to television programmes, books and even fashion lines.

Indeed, the glamour model industry is increasingly seen as a legitimate route for many into the 'respectable' world of television presenting, acting and reality show appearances – former glamour girls Melinda Messenger and Linda Lusardi carved new careers from their early days of topless modelling.