Sheffield beauty queen and hostess of Sale of the Century Christine Crapper dies aged 69

Christine Crapper (nee Owen) was one of the Steel City’s icons in the 1970s for showcasing the glamourous prizes on the primetime ITV programme.

But even after she left the small screen behind her, the Miss Britain winner championed causes like Sheffield’s-own Weston Park’s Cancer Charity.

She was with her family when passed away at Ashgate Hospice on August 29, after a short battle with lung cancer.

Her daughter Georgia said: “My mum was a loving, warm person with a beautiful smile.

“She was thoughtful, she was a good friend and she was a very kind person, and I think that will be her legacy.”

Christine was born on July 2, 1953, and grew up on Heeley Bank Road.

Georgia says her mum knew she wanted to try her hand at beauty pageantry when she was asked to model her school’s uniform at 11.

She was taught the trade at Lucy Clayton Modelling School in Manchester when she was 16 – and by the next year she had won Miss Britain at 17.

In the following years she came first runner up at Miss Great Britain, and also took home Miss Yorkshire Television 1975 and Miss She 1978.

Christine became a household name as one of the hostesses on ITV’s primetime show Sale of the Century with Nicholas Parsons in 1978.

Georgia said: “Mum told me the casting call asked for blondes only, so she already wasn’t strictly right for the role.

“But mum never thought she was the most beautiful – she was very modest and said she was just herself.

“She said, ‘I get on with people, I talk to them, and they take me on’.”

Christine stayed with the show until 1983 where she won the hearts of countless viewers by showcasing prizes for the audience.

Christine left the show to raise Georgia as a full-time mum when she met her husband, Patrick Crapper, after sitting next to him at an event evening for actor Bobby Knutt.

Later in her career, Christine became a property landlord and championed charity causes in the city.

She became a patron of Weston Park Cancer Charity, and events she helped organise are still held every year to this day.

Georgia says one of her ideas was the ‘Look Good, Feel Better’ event, where women undergoing cancer treatments are given makeovers and get to keep the make up and gifts provided.

She battled breast cancer twice in her life, and ran several pieces with The Star in the mid 2000s discussing her journey around the time Kylie Minogue went public about her own battle.

Georgia said: “She looked amazing for her age. Her doctors would come onto the hospital ward and wouldn’t believe she was their patient because they were ‘looking for someone older.’

“She taught me you can always be kind, and I think that will be her legacy.”

Christine’s funeral will be held at Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium on September 27 at 1.15pm.