Miss Scotland hopefuls Sophie and Gail are flying the flag for Falkirk

Broadcast journalist and model Sophie Wallace (21) from Reddingmuirhead and Gail Wilson (24) from Grangemouth, who runs Envy Gowns in Falkirk, will join 16 other young women across the country for the prestigious event at The Grand Central Station Hotel in Glasgow.

The duo, who are firm friends, have known each other for the last five years after Sophie was asked to model for Envy Gowns when she went in to the shop to choose a prom dress.

This is the second time Falkirk Herald columnist and Kingdom FM broadcaster Sophie has taken part in the contest after being announced a runner-up in 2017.

She said: “I’m really excited to be taking part again. It’s such a fantastic opportunity and has helped me to publicise the work of my chosen charity, Carers Trust Scotland who I have volunteered with for the last two years.

“The charity means a lot to me as when I was younger I was very close to a lot of young people who were unpaid carers, who gave up their time and made huge sacrifices to look after friends and families and there are lots of people across the country in this situation so I wanted to raise awareness about that and also celebrate their achievements and positive contributions to society.”

Gail too said she was excited to be in the competition alongside Sophie but modestly added that she “still can’t believe” she was selected as a finalist.

“I’ve never done anything like this before and honestly didn’t expect to get this far – it is such a fantastic opportunity.”

Gail will be raising money for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) as part of the competition, a cause close to her heart after both her late grandad and mum suffered strokes.

“My mum, Carol, had a stroke in January. It happened very suddenly with no real symptoms other than pins and needles. It was a very frightening time for the whole family but the information available to her through CHSS was invaluable to help her emotional and physical recovery and thank goodness she is OK now. My grandad sadly passed away recently but he also suffered a stroke two years ago and his was more serious as he lost a lot of movement as well as his voice which was so sad as he was such a lovely singer. I feel proud to be able to raise money for CHSS in his memory.”