My sister Shakira didn't win Love Island but I'm still celebrating a big victory

The 12th series of ITV’s Love Island came to an end last night and it saw Burnley born beauty Shakira, 22, come in second place.

Although the marketing executive, who also works in children’s enterainment, did not come out on top, she’ll surely be celebrating a successful journey, which saw her form a relationship with footballer Harry Cooksley and secure an impressive 394k Instagram followers.

More so than that however another member of the Burnley family has given them another victory to celebrate as younger sister Shanti Khan, 18, has been named the new Miss Teen Pageant Girl UK.

Shanti, who appeared in Love Island’s ‘Meet The Families’ episode, recently competed against girls from all over the UK and has proudly been crowned Miss Teen Pageant Girl UK 2025/26.

Following her victory, the former Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic School and Burnley College pupil told us: “It feels surreal to win with this being my first pageant. I couldn’t believe it when my name was called, it just shows you don’t need experience, you just need confidence and a good cause.

“I signed up to compete because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and speaking to other pageant girls made me realise how amazing pageantry actually is. It makes you the best version of yourself and I already had a platform I wanted to grow”.

As a first-time pageant contestant, organisers say Shanti, who works as a waitress at Finsley Gate Wharf, entered the world of pageantry with a powerful purpose: to use her voice to represent those who may not have one.

Recognising that many children and young people face unequal access to opportunity, Shanti used her pageant platform to advocate for meaningful change, and her passion led to the creation of Free to Dream: a self-led initiative through which she raised over £1,000.

The funds supported a summer camp focused on confidence-building, creative expression, and personal development, designed to give children the tools and encouragement to thrive.

A lifelong lover of the arts, Shanti has studied drama and dance in school and is currently pursuing photography in college before heading to the University of Salford in Septmeber to study fashion business and promotion.

Shanti says creative outlets have been essential to building her own confidence, individuality, and sense of purpose and now, she’s determined to use her national title to empower others through those same channels.

As Miss Teen Pageant Girl UK, Shanti will be committed to promoting self-expression, inclusion, and equal access to personal growth.

Shanti said: “As a child I was really shy and reserved, and doing performing arts pulled me out of my shell and gave me my confidence.

“I want every child to be able to have that same opportunity as me but the arts are extremely underfunded so that’s why I created Free to Dream and raised over 1000 pounds to run my own summer camp to give children the opportunities they might’ve been missing out on.

“Doing pageantry makes my voice louder and pushes the cause further.

“I want to reach as many people as I can, my crown is my microphone!

“I hope to inspire a generation of young people to dream big, speak up, and believe in their worth, because every voice deserves to be heard!”