Pint-sized pageant queens, pushy parents and tantrums galore: Toddlers and Tiaras is back - and so are two of its biggest stars



The tiny costumes and the giant tantrums have made Toddlers and Tiaras one of TLC's biggest hits.



Now, the pint-sized pageant queens and pushy parents are back for the show's fifth season.



The first episode, which airs tonight on TLC, charts the rivalry between two of the industry's biggest stars: Eden Wood, six, and Makenzie Myers, five.



The pair's preparations for the Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant, in Plano, Texas, make for compelling viewing.

Rivalry: Pageant pro Eden Wood, six (left), takes on newcomer Makenzie Myers, five (right), in the newest series of Tantrums and Tiaras, which begins tonight on TLC

From the gaudy make-up and spray tans to the high-octane home-made outfits, they can be seen spending hours grooming and rehearsing in their bids to win the 'Ultimate Grand Supreme' title, which comes with a prize of $1,000 and a pink princess-style canopy bed.

Even more aggressive procedures, such as eyebrow waxing feature, with one youngster saying: 'If you want to be beautiful, it has to take pain.'

Eden, who has been on the scene since she was just 14 months old, has pageants down to a fine art. But Makenzie, with her diva personality, has proved hot competition.



Pageant director Annette Hill explained: 'Both contestants are famous in their own right. Eden is a top notch pro. Makenzie is like a pop phenomenon.



'It is up to the judges what they are going to go for: more personality and baby doll (Makenzie) or top notch professional (Eden).'

Seasoned pro: Eden has been competing in beauty pageants since she was 14 months old

Diva: Makenzie's melodramatic temper tantrums make her compelling viewing

Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of meltdowns, such as Makenzie's fury at having to wear clip-on earrings to Eden's tears over hairspray fumes.



But most fascinating of all are the 'pageant moms', who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars travelling across the country and coaching their precious daughters .

Makenzie’s mother, Juana, who takes her daughter to an acting coach in the first episode, tells viewers in a trailer how her daughter is 'not your average pageant girl.'



Mickie Wood, mother of Eden, is even more ambitious, lining up tours as well as album and book deals for her precious girl, who she says is 'way more than a pageant superstar.'

Competitive: The pair both aspire to win the 'Ultimate Grand Supreme' title in the Texas pageant

Young ambition: The series sees girls as young as three in make-up, spray tans and homemade costumes

The blonde pre-schooler is seen in a recording studio laying down the track for Cutie Patootie, her debut single.



As Eden tells the camera with complete conviction: ' I'm real famous.'

Though the girls are competing in different age categories in the Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant, they are both eligible to win the 'Ultimate Grand Supreme' title.

And while we won't reveal who wins, this is just the beginning with a girl as young as three in one particular episode, and another in which an eight-year-old joins forces with her pushy pageant dad for her on-stage performance.

