By Charminae George
When we think of pageant shows, we think of sparkly dresses, high heels and makeup. But move over girly stuff because there is a new show on the scene and it’s the Police Week’s ‘King Show’.
The September 9 event saw five police officers from stations across Antigua and Barbuda showcasing their creativity, discipline and comradery.
The person responsible for this extraordinary idea is Sergeant Cheryl Hodge, who is the contest chair in the committee responsible for police pageants. One day she decided that a male version was necessary and, voila, the ‘King Show’ was born. This show was under the theme of the reigning Police Queen finding a king.
One of the first persons she told the idea to was Corporal Jain Benta, who was 100 percent on board.
Soon after, two other officers ‘hopped onto the bandwagon’, bringing the total to three. A suggestion was made for the show to proceed with the male contestants, and the addition of three female contestants.
That proposal was shut down because the contest chair had a vision and she was determined to see it through. After much campaigning, two additional officers signed up and the show was officially on the road.
The producer of the show and previous Police Week pageants, Victor Samuel Jr, said that some re-working of the usual format had to be done, especially for the swimwear segment.

“I had to rethink pageant and apply some rules into their show to ensure that it doesn’t come across negative, so you don’t have a soft, feminine-looking show but a masculine show with great activities happening onstage, for example, the beach wear,” Samuel explained.
He added that producing a male show was indeed easier than producing a female show.
Training for the show presented its share of amusement for the contestants. Constable Ewarth Nedd made a special effort to entertain his fellow participants with amusing dance moves, and there was also a unique nickname given to one particular contestant.
“I could not get the routine down pat and the trainer called me ‘untreated plywood’, because I was moving so stiff,” Corporal Ickson Elester Peters said.
He went on to surmount the challenge of learning the show’s routine, along with Constable Stefan Jacobs who mentioned that learning how to model posed some difficulty for him in the beginning.
Remember that first officer who was 100 percent on board from the inception? His plan for the performing talent segment would be a dramatic presentation showcasing the resilience of police officers in the face of challenges. His main prop for this would be a surprise for many, including the persons responsible for setting up the stage.
“The Friday before the show, the guys were setting up and were like ‘yo, somebody really bring a toilet to put on the stage’. I was there… and they said ‘ah haffu he nuh’. I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’, and [he] said ‘only you would bring a toilet here,” Corporal Benta recounted.
The night of the show finally rolls around and Sergeant Clint Spencer does something unexpected in the swimwear segment: Fire breathing. Unbeknownst to many onlookers who saw him maintain a smile throughout his routine, he accidentally swallowed a tiny bit of the fuel.
“After I blew the large flame at the beginning, when I walked off to do my routine, some of the lighter fluid that was still in my mouth accidentally slipped at the back of my throat…I was trying not to cough,” he revealed.
In conclusion, five contestants made the inaugural King Show a success. Corporal Benta captured the winning title and became the pageantry partner of the reigning Police Queen 2022, Constable Keriann Thomas.
Sergeant Spencer followed as first runner-up, and Constable Nedd placed second runner-up.
Next year, the baton will be passed to new participants who will be sure to dazzle the public.
Until then, the live stream of this year’s show can be viewed via a link on the ‘Police Week Show’ Facebook page.