presenter is redcoat royalty. So much so, that there is a life sized statue of him, which was unveiled in 2023 in Butlin’s Minehead resort, where he began his career.
It may not seem like the most obvious route into television but Stephen encouraged people to consider it as he launched his bronze doppleganer.
“Working as a Redcoat in Minehead played such an important part at the start of my career and I recommend this experience as the perfect platform to anyone looking to get into the entertainment world,” he said.
Born in Stratford to market trader parents, Stephen became obsessed by magic at a young age and years later this would prove his way in to his Butlin’s job.
He started learning tricks when he was just 11 years old. He became the youngest member of The Magic Circle at 17, which led to a profile boosting appearance on Blue Peter.
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Stephen Mulhern began his career as a Butlin’s Redcoat and was honoured with a statue in 2003 (Image: Butlin’s)
It was also at 17 that he joined Butlin’s and donned the iconic red jacket after finding himself in a right place right time scenario.
“The way I actually got the job was that we went to Butlin’s as a family on holiday. We went from when I was about 11 all the way through to when I was 17 when one evening an act had dropped out,” he told in 2022.
“My dad asked one of the Redcoats, ‘Could my son do a little show?’ and they let me. Then the head of entertainment at Minehead asked if I would ever think of becoming a Redcoat and I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’d love to,’ and so I did.”
While he enjoyed Butlin’s he also began pursuing his TV career but he didn’t have overnight success.
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Stephen Mulhern is back hosting Dancing on Ice with Holly Willoughby (Image: ITV)
At 18, he auditioned for Michael Barrymore’s My Kind of People but was turned down. He had more success when he won Jonathan Ross’s talent show The Big Big Talent Show which meant he was invited to take part in the Royal Variety Performance at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1997 when he was 20.
He got his first presenting break on the now defunct CITV a year later in 1998, but it wasn’t until three years later that he landed his first major gig, presenting four series of the CITV show Finger Tips alongside Fearne Cotton.
Since then he has had a slow and steady climb up the ladder on shows such as In For A Penny and Catchphrase, Saturday Night Takeaway, Magic Numbers, The Big Quiz, Animals Do The Funniest Things and Rolling In It.
Now with his role on Dancing on Ice and the huge success of Deal or No Deal he appears to have finally reached a pinnacle at the channel. But he hasn’t forgotten his roots and later this year he will return to Butlin’s with his brand new stage show Out of This World!