Stephen Mulhern, 47, is a presenter and magician from Stratford, east London. His magic career began at a Butlin’s holiday camp when he was 16 and since then he has worked as a redcoat and on some of the most popular children’s TV and talent shows, including Britain’s Got Talent and Dancing on Ice. Mulhern lives near Chiswick, west London, and has just released the third book in his Max Magic children’s fiction series.

My first lads’ holiday was in Ayia Napa in Cyprus in my early twenties, with two of my best mates. I’m not a prude in any way but the whole place was just total debauchery. I don’t think I’ve ever seen people drink so much, to the point where they can’t talk. The thought of going back — I’d rather die. The place where we stayed was just hell too. We did go to the beach as well as the clubs, but the only reason that people were there was to get over what they’d done the night before. I saw some who had obviously just slept on the beach — one side of them was completely burnt.

I’ve been to Portugal with Ant and Dec, who I’ve worked with for years, and I loved it. They were out there on holiday and I joined them for a few days, staying at the Conrad Algarve. But I’m not very worldly — and I’m a very plain eater. Put it this way: my good friend Emma Willis told me that I should be called “Fifty Shades of Beige”. When I’m away and I see people eating things such as sushi I wish I could try it, but I just can’t — I’ve never even tried sushi. While I was growing up my parents were very plain eaters too, and it’s hard to change your food habits later on in life. There’s talk of me filming a new show in Japan next year and I’m thinking it would be great, but I’d lose a lot of weight. I am intrigued by Japan, but I don’t think I’ve got the guts to go — literally.

I presented a kids’ animal show called Brilliant Creatures in my twenties, and we filmed it in Peru and the Amazon rainforest (I ate predominantly steak and potatoes). The Amazon was like nothing I’ve experienced before; it was incredible. I saw a bird-eating spider the size of a plate — its eyes were so big you could see it blink.

Stephen visited Bath whilst on tour with Britain’s Got More Talent
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Most of our family holidays when I was growing up were at nearby seaside resorts such as Margate and Southend; our first big trip was to Butlin’s in Minehead, Somerset, when I was 11. I loved it. I always wanted to be a redcoat and I was scouted in a Butlin’s talent show aged 16 after one of the acts failed to turn up. I think Butlin’s is a proper British institution — not wishing to sound like an old man, but entertainers are very few and far between now, even in places such as Tenerife and Las Vegas. There was real entertainment back then and it’s not the same any more.

My first overseas holiday was to Disney World in Florida when I was 17. My uncle took all my family there — me, my three siblings and my parents — and it was like a whirlwind. I’d never been on a plane and it was just incredible. Even now I believe that getting on the plane is a huge part of the holiday. Everything in Florida was just so big and the dollars felt like toy money, and everyone said hello to strangers in the street — if you did that here people would think you had something wrong with you.

About four years ago I was nearly killed in New York. I went to walk across the road in Times Square but forgot that the traffic there goes in the opposite direction. I felt a bus go past my nose, it was that close — a friend of mine pulled me back just in time.

I’ve been on cruises for work and I’d love to take my parents on a voyage. They’re retired and in their seventies and I love travelling with them. After Covid I realised I don’t see my family enough.

I’ve been very lucky in terms of travelling around the UK. When I was presenting Britain’s Got More Talent, in its heyday, we went around the country on a live tour. For another show that I’m doing at the moment, In for a Penny, we go everywhere — this series we’ve been to Milton Keynes, Manchester, Luton, and it’s incredible to see all these cities. The people in each one are so different — people in Manchester will be different from people in Leicester and they have completely different attitudes to the shows. My favourite places of those we’ve visited are Cambridge and Bath, both of which are beautiful; we stayed in an amazing hotel in Cambridge.

Stephen’s love of being in water makes Siam Park waterpark in Tenerife a firm favourite
ALAMY

I do get recognised when I’m travelling and I’ve never said no to a selfie. But one time I was doing a theatre show in Crawley, West Sussex, and when I walked past a busy branch of Greggs everyone inside started cheering. I thought, “Ah, here we go,” and poked my head in — then realised that they were cheering because the sausage rolls had just come out of the oven. I felt like Alan Partridge.

I stayed at Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados a few years ago, and for me it ticked every box: heat, great hotel and water sports. My favourite trips are active holidays, particularly those that involve water sports, because I absolutely love being in water. I could live in the Siam Park waterpark in Tenerife — that’s how much I love it.