OUR CHILDREN ask to visit the waxworks every time we’re in Blackpool to see the long red carpet of celebrities.

And even though they don’t know who all the celebrities are, they’re fascinated to see the detail in the face is whether famous or unfamiliar.

On entering Madame Tussauds from the seafront you’re immediately thrust into the land of naff, with interactive displays devoted to TV presenters like Jeremy Kyle, Simon Cowell and Keith Lemon. It’s a great way to capture the attention of all ages – it’s a total gigglefest as families immediately rush to have their pictures taken with the bevy of ‘lifestyle’ celebs.

Past the TV detectives and it’s up into a land of adventure, Bear Grylls and Ben Fogel greeting us before a ropebridge walk and tunnel trail takes us into I’m A Celebrity Get Me About Of Here, the creepy crawlies thankfully as fake as the celebrities.

The walk-through the football locker room leads into the sporting Hall of Fame, Tiger Woods and Mo Farra among the exhibits, then an evocative visit to the Rovers Return to meet Coronation Street waxworks and even have a pint.

The music gallery is a regular favourite with stars of yesteryear like Abba and Freddie Mercury rubbing shoulders with modern-day chartsters like Lady Gaga. The Beatles, working across Abbey Road, are a surprisingly recent addition.

We were all disappointed by this year’s new attraction, Festival Fields: although it was good to see the likes of Olly Murs and Ed Sheeran joining the exhibits, the setting of a music festival was a little underwhelming.

It was funny to see actor Hugh Bonneville, patriarch of the fictional Downton Abbey dynasty, standing alongside the Queen, Prince William and Kate.

One of the most interesting galleries shows how the waxworks are created, with several versions of comedian Alan Carr’s head guiding us through the process.

Then there’s a cheesy, atmospheric visit to Blackpool Pier with waxworks like Sooty and Sweep, and the family favourites like Bob the Builder and Shrek.

The comedy gallery was particularly poignant, due to the recent death of Ronnie Corbett, seeing him sitting with the earlier-departed Ronnie Barker and the slogan alongside stating: “It’s goodbye from me, and it’s goodbye from him.”

Visit madametussauds.com/blackpool/en for more details.