Stephen Mulhern

Magic

Mulhern gained his interest in comedy and magic from his father, who taught him tricks when he was young. He began public magic performances when he was 11 years old. He used to perform at Butlin's Minehead during family holidays, and was a Redcoat for two years.^[6][7][8] He became the youngest member of The Magic Circle, which brought about an appearance on Blue Peter in a piece about Harry Houdini.^{[citation needed]} Mulhern was later suspended from The Magic Circle for revealing a magic trick on the children's television programme Finger Tips. The suspension was eventually lifted.^[9]

After leaving school, he created a magic show under the title Stephen's Mega Mad Magic Show. Turned down at age 18 by Michael Barrymore for My Kind of People, he won another television talent show called The Big Big Talent Show which was hosted by Jonathan Ross, and as a result, in 1997 was invited to take part in the Royal Variety Performance at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

Mulhern has appeared on the Disney Channel and then on CITV alongside Holly Willoughby on Saturday Showdown. His television credits since have included The Quick Trick Show and more recently Tricky TV. In 2005, Mulhern created and presented the Channel 4 magic show Freaky. In 2006, he performed a magic routine in an episode of The Slammer and came in second place. The dance group Flawless, who went on to perform on Britain's Got Talent (a spin-off show which Mulhern presents), came first. Mulhern's 2010 entertainment show Magic Numbers featured magic and illusions during the phone-in process.

Radio

On 5 August 2012, Mulhern became co-presenter of Sunday breakfast from 9am to 12 midday with Emma Willis across the Heart Network. The duo occasionally present the Heart London Breakfast show when regular hosts, Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden are away.^[10]

In 2021, Mulhern began presenting shows on Virgin Radio UK. He covered Graham Norton in the weekend morning 9.30am to 12.30pm slot in August^[11] and also presented a week of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show in December.^[12] Mulhern returned to Virgin to host another week of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show in April 2022.^[13]

Television

Mulhern began presenting on CITV in 1998. He co-hosted four series of Finger Tips with Fearne Cotton from 2001 until 2003 and with Naomi Wilkinson in 2004. He presented children's show Tricky TV from 2005 to 2010. He also co-hosted Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown (originally called Ministry of Mayhem) with Holly Willoughby from 2004 to 2006.

From 2006 to 2007, Mulhern hosted the ITV2 spin-off Dancing on Ice: Defrosted, while Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby hosted the main show.

From 2007 to 2019, Mulhern hosted ITV2 spin-off Britain's Got More Talent, which aired immediately after the main ITV show, which is hosted by Ant & Dec. Since 2013, Mulhern has become associated with the word 'unbelievable' which slowly became his catchphrase, usually used on Britain's Got More Talent as he walks offscreen at the end of a section, with Ant & Dec often mimicking him,^[14] and is also known for saying "Doosh!"

From 2009 to 2011, Mulhern narrated the ITV entertainment show Animals Do the Funniest Things.

Mulhern regularly presented inside 'The Hub', a small segment on the ITV daytime show This Morning. He most recently hosted the segment on Thursday and Friday mornings although had previously hosted on Wednesdays and Thursdays until the departure of Matt Johnson in the summer of 2013. Mulhern has occasionally presented the main show, standing in for the regular presenters.

In 2010, he hosted primetime game show Magic Numbers on ITV. Mulhern has hosted numerous episodes of The Big Quiz.

Since April 2013, Mulhern has presented a revived version of ITV game show Catchphrase.^[15] In September 2013, Mulhern began presenting ITV's Big Star's Little Star, a show which sees celebrities and their children compete to win up to £15,000 for charity.^[16]

On 27 October 2013, Mulhern began hosting a live Sunday morning show called Sunday Side Up on ITV.^[17] On 21 December 2013, Mulhern hosted entertainment special The Illusionists on ITV.^[18] On 14 September 2014, Mulhern guest hosted an episode of Sunday Night at the Palladium.^[19]

In early 2015, Mulhern presented the primetime ITV reality series Get Your Act Together.^[20] On 5 February 2015, he began presenting ITV2 panel show Reality Bites .^[21] In 2015, he presented The Magic Show Story a one-off special for ITV^[22] and The Saturday Night Story, a two-part series focusing on Saturday night television.^[23] In 2015, Mulhern presented Pick Me!, a daytime game show for ITV as well as ITV's annual charity telethon Text Santa. In March 2015, Mulhern became a victim of the Ant & Dec Undercover segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

In February 2016, Mulhern became the presenter of the 'Ant vs Dec' segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway after replacing Ashley Roberts.^[24] In 2016, Mulhern presented Go for It, and co-hosted The Next Great Magician alongside Rochelle Humes for ITV. On 12 April 2018, it was announced that Mulhern would host The National Lottery Draws on ITV.^[25]

In 2019, Mulhern presented In For A Penny, which is based on a segment he presents on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway of the same name.^[26]

In August 2020, Mulhern began presenting a new game show on ITV, Rolling In It, featuring both contestants and celebrities. In February 2022, Mulhern guest presented Dancing on Ice alongside Willoughby whilst Phillip Schofield self-isolated from COVID-19. In January 2023 it was reported that a reboot of the show Deal or No Deal would be hosted by Mulhern airing from 20 November 2023.^[27] In December 2023, Mulhern was announced as the replacement co-host of Dancing on Ice, succeeding Schofield who resigned from ITV earlier in the year.^[28] Mulhern co-hosted Dancing on Ice from Series 16 in January 2024 to its cancellation at the end of Series 17 in March 2025.

Butlin's (2008 – 2025)

Since 2008, Mulhern has maintained a long-standing relationship with the British holiday resort chain Butlin’s, returning to the venues where he first began his entertainment career. Mulhern who originally worked as a Butlin’s Redcoat at the Minehead resort in the late 1990s, an experience he has described as formative to his career as a performer — regularly performed headline shows during school holiday periods at all three Butlin’s resorts (Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness).^[29][30]

In 2023 he signed a three-year contract reportedly worth £1 million to act as the resort chain’s ambassador and headline performer, extending his association with Butlin’s through the 2025 season. Under the agreement, Mulhern not only starred in live stage productions including the specially created Out of This World show in 2025 — but also featured prominently in national advertising and brand campaigns for the company.^[31]

As part of his role in promoting Butlin’s and celebrating both his personal journey and the resort’s entertainment heritage, a life-sized statue of Mulhern in his classic Redcoat uniform was commissioned and unveiled in 2023. The statue was initially displayed in Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford his hometown — before being relocated to the Minehead resort, symbolising his full-circle return to the place where his career began.^[32][33]

During his three years as a headline performer, Mulhern entertained over one million guests and became a key figure in the resort’s promotional efforts, helping to launch initiatives such as the redesigned Redcoat uniform and training academy.

In June 2025 it was confirmed that his contract with Butlin’s would not be renewed beyond the 2025 season, bringing to an end one of the longest and most high-profile celebrity entertainments in the resort’s recent history. Both Mulhern and Butlin’s described the partnership as “hugely positive”, with Mulhern expressing his enthusiasm for exploring new opportunities in family entertainment following his final appearances in August 2025.^[34][35]

Television