The Redcoats have been entertaining visitors to Butlin’s seaside resorts since 1936, with Sir Cliff Richard and Stephen Mulhern among those to have donned the famous blazer. BBC News traveled to Skegness to meet those hoping to take the stage.

A young man scratches his arm nervously.

Others chat enthusiastically. We are in a room next to the audition room.

Dozens of people are hoping to impress the judges and take their first steps into the entertainment business, and the atmosphere here is electric – a cacophony of nervous laughter as the contestants discuss their 60-second chance to impress the judges.

First in the queue is Katie Jickells, 19, who traveled more than 160 miles from Huddersfield for the auditions.

“It definitely adds to the nervousness,” she says. “I’m nervous to be first but it sets the bar – it’s exciting.

“I’ve always dreamed of being a Redcoat. I’ve been coming to Butlin’s since I was a baby, so it’s really just a dream.”

Darren Hall, 43, came from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, with his acoustic guitar.

“I’m pretty nervous,” he said. “But I’m just going to be myself. Go ahead and sing and play, and hopefully impress.”

But the rigorous interview process, followed by group activities and then a 60-second presentation, sees Mr Hall cut off before the chance to strum a string in front of the judges.

It’s show business.

Billy Butlin, founder of the company, created the role of Redcoat after noticing that holidaymakers were sitting around and not engaging with each other or the activities he had organized.

Mr Butlin assigned an employee to engage guests in icebreaker games and jokes. This apparently transformed the atmosphere.

With the addition of the uniform of a red blazer, the role was born.

Friends Stephen Gamage and Joe Jenney both traveled hundreds of miles from Leicester and Hull respectively to audition. Neither knew the other would be there.

“We had a weird morning,” says Mr. Gamage.

“It’s been a little dream of mine for about 10 years now, and now I’m finally old enough to audition,” Mr. Jenney says. “I’m ready to rock.

“I’m incredibly nervous, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready to do my best.”

Mr Jenney’s ability to create a TV mini-game in 60 seconds impresses the judges, while Mr Gamage’s magic act is also highly praised.

When they leave, the two men are all smiles.

Mr Jenney says it feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. His friend is also relieved.

“I can’t believe I managed to do this,” says Mr Gamage. “I’m really happy that Joe and I survived the one-minute performance, which I think is the scariest part of the day.”

One person who knows this all too well is Aaron Smith, a Redcoat at Skegness, who auditioned for the role while working in one of the resort’s restaurants.

“I arrived very nervous, I hadn’t slept the night before,” he says, recalling his own journey through the selection process.

“But I went with the guns and it was so much fun. I would love to do the audition process again.”

Only about a third of people who attend auditions today make it to the next stage.

Michaela Lorimer, one of Butlin’s managers in charge of selecting candidates, says it is “really difficult” to exclude people from the process.

“At the end of the day, it’s horrible,” she told me. “We don’t want to do that. But it’s really important that we find the right person to wear the Redcoat jacket.”

As the sun sets on the audition process, Miss Jickells, who walked through the door first, breathes a sigh of relief.

She made it through the tricky 60-second showcase by spinning around and body popping in a street dance routine.

“It’s just amazing,” says Miss Jickells, who is now at the final stage of the process.

The contestants are now awaiting the judges’ final decision.

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