Wookey Hole

Jessica was thinking of throwing her hat into the ring for this role previously. She told me she was going on a City Break in Budapest this week – I wonder if she has secretly instead headed off for these auditions?!

They came from far and wide. Some insisted they had flown there on their brooms; others admitted they had arrived by car or bus. One or two maintained they really did have magical powers but most conceded that the real draw was the rather decent salary.

This was the auditions for the role of the Wookey Witch, worth £50,000 a year (pro rata) to the lucky winner of the “Hex Factor” event held at the world famous tourist attraction in the Mendip Hills, Somerset.

Scores of candidates – young and old, glamorous and, well, more witchy – turned up at Wookey Hole to try to convince a panel of judges that they should be the face of the landmark.

The job description is reasonably simple: must be able to cackle, must not be allergic to cats and must be able to work weekends and school holidays.

Actually it is a pretty tough gig. When Wookey Hole last held open auditions four years ago, the candidate, Calamity Carla (former estate agent Carole Bohanan) only lasted a few weeks before an acrimonious fallout. “Her name should have told us that she wasn’t going to work,” said director Daniel Medley.