Promzillas: UK Proms Go US-Style With White Horses, Giant Dresses and Queens

Forget Gypsy Brides, giant dresses and over-the-top glitter has got even younger, as teenagers in the UK have opened the floodgates for dramatic US-style proms.

Horse drawn carriages, huge dresses and endless bottles of fake tan are the order of the day as a new documentary lifts the lid on the glitzy new trend sweeping the UK.

Prom Queen Divas UK follows 16-year-olds from across the country preparing for the glamorous final farewell to their school days.

It seems sadly gone are the days where girls and boys gathered shyly for a disco in the school hall on the last day of term, wearing their coolest bomber jackets and screwing up the courage to go and ask for a dance late on in the evening before parental pick up.

Instead, for these teenagers the school prom is a chance to go all out.

A staggering £30million is reportedly spent in the UK by parents for their children's ultimate send off - with even the average boy splashing out £300.

The Channel 5 film sees the teens battle with their parents for the most expensive dress they can get their hands on - and with each other for the esteemed Prom Queen title.

Star of the show Shannon Collingham, 16, is a self-confessed drama queen who loves her fake tan almost as much as she loves her hair extensions.

Speaking ahead of her prom, Shannon tells the camera crew: "Shoes for prom have got to be proper glitzy and glamour-y."

And in a complete misunderstanding of the word 'tacky' she adds:

"The dress has got to be really big, but I don't want it to be a tacky pink - I want it to be a nice elegant pink. My nails, I'm getting them redone.

"I'm going to go for a spray tan and then the day of prom I can fake tan over that.

"I'd hate to be described as a tramp or tacky - I wouldn't want to be called a chav.

"I'm just a glamorous girl - Princess Shannon."

Her long-suffering parents Dean and Nikki, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, endure months of tears and tantrums in pursuit of Shannon's perfect outfit ahead of the big day.

But they manage to talk her out of an £1,800 wedding dress from a bespoke bridal shop - even if it does result in a changing-room melt down complete with tears and folded arms.

Patient dad Dean said: "As beautiful as you look, it's a wedding dress Shannon - it's not appropriate for a prom."

Quite why they let her look in there in the first place is a mystery.

Meanwhile, Corey Collins, 16, dispels the myth that it's only the girls who worry about their outfits.

Corey from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, has a near fashion disaster when he gets his eyebrows threaded - and then dyed - to give him a smouldering look for his big day.

But for Corey, who splashed out on a vintage tractor to take him to the prom, it was a chance to stand out from the crowd.

He said: "Everyone was to be dressed up, and if you're not dressed up, then it's going to be noticeable.

"If I try as hard as I can, then people will see that I can look nice."

In Yorkshire, the school's prom sees the whole town line the streets with hundreds of people gathering at the venue to catch a glimpse of the coming-of-age tradition.

For Ella Ross, 16 and her pals that meant they had to arrive in style, with four of them clubbing together for a £600 horse drawn carriage.

The rose-covered buggy - dragged by two white stallions - pulled up next to limos, hummers and even helicopters.

Ella said: "I've always wanted to look like a princess. I proper love Cinderella.

"We just want to show everyone who we really are and stand out."

There's something weirdly compelling but crushingly sad about the youngsters' dreams. But with celebrity culture and shows such as Keeping Up The With The Kardashians and Gypsy Weddings we only have ourselves to blame for feeding our kids the fake ideals of beauty and excess as aspirational rather than distateful.

The documentary is on Channel 5 on Thursday at 8pm.

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