Miss England 2019, Bhasha Mukherjee, has hung her crown to become one of the front-liners fighting the Coronavirus epidemics.

According to the 24-year-old, who was a junior doctor specialising in respiratory medicine before competing in the Miss World pageant on behalf of England in December 2019, this is what she got her degree for and there is no better time to be part of this particular sector than now.

Mukherjee graduated from the University of Nottingham just two weeks before she was crowned Miss England in August. One day after winning the title, she began her first day at work at Pilgrim Hospital Boston-Lincolnshire before traveling to the Miss World pageant late last year.

From there, the beauty queen admitted she had “sort of a dream summer” planned that was jam-packed with sponsored charity trips to Sri Lanka, Barbados, Gibraltar and more. But as the death rate continued to climb, Mukherjee was getting word from her colleagues back home that there was a pressing need for medical workers — and fast.

“That’s what initiated me to return to work in the first place,” Mukherjee said, adding that she always had plans to return to her medical career this August.

“Two or three weeks ago I was hearing about these really long shifts and that my colleagues were covering various parts of the hospital and taking on responsibilities we didn’t have before. I really wanted to join in the task force right away.”

After Mukherjee started receiving messages from former colleagues about the worsening situation at her hospital, she knew she had to pick up where she had left off. She told CNN she felt she needed to be more hands-on during the pandemic. “When you are doing all this humanitarian work abroad, you’re still expected to put the crown on, get ready…look pretty,” she said. “I wanted to come back home. I wanted to come and go straight to work.”

“I felt a sense of, this is what I’d got this degree for and what better time to be part of this particular sector than now?” she said. “It was incredible the way the whole world was celebrating all key workers, and I wanted to be one of those, and I knew I could help.”

On April 5, Queen Elizabeth II made a rare address to the British public, thanking health care and essential workers for their tireless effort responding to COVID-19.

“I want to thank everyone on the NHS front line, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles who selflessly continue their day-to-day duties outside the home in support of us all,” she said. “I’m sure the nation will join me in ensuring you that what you do is appreciated and every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to more normal times.”