The end of Ruby Cooke’s first month as the Face of Essex saw the 20-year-old taking her first catwalk step towards a modelling career – as well as catching up with some famous friends.

The Hornchurch girl kicked off her weekend by taking part in the Club Fashion Catwalk at Romford’s Liberty shopping centre.

“It was very good,” she told the Recorder, “except for making a small stumble where the two carpets joined – but I styled it out and twisted at the same time.”

Ruby’s agency Talent Talks organised the fashion show with Brentwood nightclub Sugar Hut. “It was quite quick,” she added. “We only had to model one outfit.

“But it was better than sitting indoors on a Saturday afternoon.”

Ruby also got to see herself in the video for Professor Green’s single “Remedy”, which was filmed back in week two and unveiled on Friday – before catching up with the Prof himself backstage at his Southend gig.

“I got a call from one of the guys working on the video with him,” she explains, “and they gave us wristbands to go downstairs to have a drink with Professor Green.

“I told him, ‘I’m not a groupie, but I do need a picture for the scrapbook’.”

And Ruby’s scrapbook got even bigger when she caught up with former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright and EastEnders legend Dean Gaffney in Essex hotspot Faces.

But it’s not all meet-and-greet sessions in swanky nightclubs.

Looking to the future, Ruby has signed up to go a bit further than the end of the catwalk – she’s preparing for a 32km cycle to Southend in aid of Kidney Research UK.

“I didn’t realise how far it was. I asked if I could use my stabilisers because I haven’t ridden a bike in years,” she joked.

The Face of Essex competition was run by the Romford Recorder and Uppercut Hair Group.

Pick up the Recorder each week to follow Ruby’s exploits.