A star-crow from Wilmslow has been awarded the fifth place trophy at the first ever McCain scarecrow auditions.
Sarah Jane Sunflower from Morley Tea Rooms was pipped to the post by 'The Scarecrow Farm Shop' from Mobberley who won a role in the next series of Emmerdale sponsorship ads.
Sarah Jane Sunflower made the long journey to London to take part in potato specialist McCain's first ever live scarecrow auditions at the Arts Theatre in the heart of the West End.
Six straw creations from the Wilmslow Scarecrow Festival, organised by the Rotary Club of Wilmslow Dean, joined twenty-four additional hopefuls from up and down the country to queue around the block for their chance to impress celeb judge ex-Emmerdale actress Sheree Murphy and a panel of McCain judges.
Nicola Ech-Channa, McCain Communications Development Manager, said "We loved seeing what the scarecrow contestants had to offer. Scarecrows are a great British tradition and the festivals put a lot of care and attention into producing their entries - just like we do with all our potatoes. It was a close-run race so the makers of Sarah Jane Sunflower should be very proud to have been awarded fifth place as it was hugely competitive."
Sheree Murphy put the hopefuls through their paces and had a tough choice to make in picking McCain's scarecrow star. Sheree said "I have been really impressed with the creativity and originality of all the contestants - the level of talent has been phenomenal! Sarah Jane Sunflower's makers really embraced the spirit of the competition which you can see by the level of effort which went into creating her, I particularly liked her bright smiling face."
Sarah Jane Sunflower's maker, Elaine Prescott said "We are extremely proud of our scarecrow for coming so far in the auditions and we can't thank McCain enough for giving us this opportunity."
The overall winning entry 'The Scarecrow Farm Shop' created by the Ellison family, will appear in an upcoming series of Emmerdale sponsorship bumpers alongside McCain favourites 'Granny' and 'Straw girl', plus they will receive £5,000 towards the organisation of the village's scarecrow festival next year.
Creations by Hawthorns Deli, Multiyork, The Coach & Four, Hilary Meredith Solicitors and Turners Nursery also made the long journey to London for their chance at stardom. When they arrived in the capital some of the scarecrows took time off to have a bit of an explore around the city before heading to the auditions.
