A 23-year-old receptionist from North Yorkshire has been voted the best in Britain and is travelling to Vienna to compete against colleagues from all over the world.

Harriet Henderson from Little Fencote near Northallerton, who works at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland carried off the title of Receptionist of the Year beating entrants from some of Britain’s most iconic hotels including The Savoy and the Connaught.

Harriet who studied Drama at Birmingham University, after attending Northallerton College, started working at Gleneagles 18 months ago after she decided to pursue a career in hospitality.

The competition is run by the Association of Front Office Managers and meant Harriet had to get through three rounds of judging including a written application, formal interviews and role-playing.

She said: “I am overjoyed to have won this award. Although I have only worked at Gleneagles for a year and a half, I have been coming to the hotel since I was a child and it’s a really special place to me. I love being part of a close team , in fact, they were all waiting on the front steps to surprise me with flowers when I came back from the ceremony..

“I’m really grateful to everyone for their support, especially to my colleague Marinel for nominating me, and I’m now looking forward to representing the country in the global competition. Fingers crossed we can bring home a UK victory.”

The competition to find the International Receptionist of the Year is being held in Vienna in January.