Ann Sidney

Ann Sidney
Ann Sidney

Ann Sidney is from Poole in Dorset.   She won the Miss World Beauty Contest in 1964.   During her tenure she joined Bob Hope and his group touring the Far East visiting U.S. troops in Vietnam.   She was featured in “You Only Live Twice” and “Sebastian” both released in 1967.   Her website can be accessed here.

Ann Sidney recalls in “Flashbaack Telegraph UK:

This is the moment that I was crowned Miss World, and I think you can see from my face that I didn’t quite believe it. I was 19 years old, from Poole in Dorset, and before this my travel experience consisted of going to the Isle of Wight with my bicycle. I didn’t expect to win; I was meant to start a new job in a hairdressing salon in a John Lewis department store the Monday after the competition. The first thought that went through my mind was, ‘I’d better call John Lewis and tell them I won’t be at work.’

We had 10 days of rehearsals and going on trips, including one to the House of Commons to listen to a debate, and we were treated like royalty. In those days Miss World was the most-watched programme on television. One night we had a big ball with everyone from Sean Connery to Roger Moore among the guests. I got some flowers from Paul Getty with a card saying, ‘You’re my choice, good luck in the competition.’   After this photo was taken we were whisked away to Café de Paris for the coronation ball. By the end of the evening I realised that I hadn’t called my mum and dad, so I kept trying to call them from a phone booth in the lobby, but their phone was permanently engaged. I finally managed to speak to them about two in the morning when I was back in my room – they had had all the neighbours round to watch the show.   As Miss World I was awarded a year’s contract as ambassadress for the International Wool Secretariat, which involved promoting the industry across the globe. That year was a blur. I travelled five times around the world in first class with my 15 suitcases, and a limousine always greeted me as soon as I stepped off a plane. I was on television shows everywhere and it was a great experience.

But at the end of the year suddenly I was the ex-Miss World, last year’s model. I had always wanted to be an actress so I joined a repertory theatre in Manchester, which paid me £12 a week. It was the best thing I could have done because it brought me straight back to earth. From then on I continued to act. I’m not saying I made a big break, I didn’t, bu I did have roles in television programmes including The Avengers, Are You Being Served? and in the Bond film You Only Live Twice, and I’ve been lucky enough to do a job I love ever since.
annsidney.com

This page can also be accessed online on “Telegraph” here.

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