What it takes to be an iconic Butlin’s Redcoat – and the way we received on

A lot has changed since Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp in Skegness in 1936. But one thing that has remained the same is the desire to provide a fun and affordable break for the working class.

And at the heart of that is the iconic Redcoats, the staff tasked with greeting and entertaining guests and ensuring the famous buzzing Butlin’s atmosphere is upheld at all times.

It’s spawned a host celebrity careers too, with the likes of the late Des O’Connor, Jimmy Tarbuck and Stephen Mulhern all starting out as Redcoats. But what does it take to be one?

Your Daily Star went down to the original resort to find out if we had what it takes. Here’s how we got on.

JUGGLING

After I joined up with my fellow trainees at the Redcoat academy to learn some basic circus skills, the first thing I had to do was unlearn 30 years of “playground catch”, as trainer Alan Duhig told me.

I eventually got the hang of juggling two balls but when was time to introduce a third ball, it all went wrong. The other recruits were already showing me up. Not a great start.

DIABLO

If I thought was bad at juggling, was in for a shock when I tried the Diablo: A small hourglass bowl on a string. The knack is to get it spinning using just a gentle, but constant, arm movement with one of the sticks.

By the time I got the hang of making it spin, everyone was doing tricks, such as throwing it in the air. And I was the only one with a sweat on.

STILT WALKING

This section got off to a flying start when I let out a loud yelp as I tried to steady myself. And it almost ended in injury as trainer James Lovell had to catch me twice to stop me falling over.

I was eventually able to walk – very slowly and gingerly – holding hands with James. But every step felt like a mile and everyone else was doing laps of the room.

As James told me afterwards: “You would be one of my biggest challenges ever to get you to walk on the stilts.”

PLATE SPINNING

This is where things started to get really embarrassing. I simply could not even get the plate to spin. Everyone else’s was going ten to the dozen, but I was stood looking sadly at my stationary saucer.

At one point, Alan generously transferred his spinning plate to my finger, which looked cool. But it was out of pity really.

FINAL VERDICT

If you’ve ever seen anyone performing any of these skills, don’t be fooled by how easy they make it look: It is anything but.

Some of the recruits were very generous and kindly told me they’d had bit more practice than me. But it clearly takes some learning and they were all very good.

I was in amazement at how effortless many of them made it look, so I wasn’t sure I’d cut the mustard as a Redcoat. And trainer Alan’s verdict was more damning. He said: “I’d give you a job any day – there’s always a floor that needs sweeping.”

To mark its 90th anniversary, Butlin’s has commissioned a commemorative Rhinestone Redcoat which it is auctioning off. Click here to bid.

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