'The Benidorm Enthusiast' - Lucy is doing her bit for the morale of ALL British lovers of the famous Spanish hot-spot

Anyone with a love and passion for Benidorm in Spain may well already be familiar with the name Lucy Young.

If you’re not, just head over to ‘Benidorm stuff’ on YouTube, and there you’ll find the cheery, smiling face of Leeds-born Lucy – otherwise known as ‘The Benidorm Enthusiast’.

Over the last 14 or 15 months, since the beginning of the first coronavirus lockdown, Lucy has been churning out her twice or three-time-weekly vlog entries with the help of cameraman and editor Phil, keeping up the spirits of her ever-growing UK-based following.

Tens of thousands of Benidorm-loving Brits regularly tune in to Lucy’s videos from the beautiful Costa Blanca hot-spot, where she addresses up-to-the-minute matters regarding accommodation, places to visit, Spanish restriction news and the latest round-ups from the Spanish Government.

It’s Lucy’s infectious, positive personality which seems to have won her thousands upon thousands of UK viewers, however, as despite much of the news from the town where she has lived for the 20 years or so being as dis-spiriting as it is over here due to the pandemic, she just wants to cheer her viewers up.

It’s little wonder there have now been well in excess of 6 million views of the ‘Benidorm stuff’ channel now.

Lucy told the Chronicle: “I first started posting pictures mainly, on Facebook, back in 2019, but Phil already had the YouTube channel set up.

“Initially I just wanted people to see the other side of Benidorm really, the side that doesn’t get much publicity and not a lot of people get to see.

“Unfortunately the mainstream media seem to back up Benidorm’s tacky reputation, though that is easing a lot now, and then the ITV hit show was obviously brilliant for us, though that still featured bits that people still hated about Benidorm.

“I just wanted to get it out there that that is not what Benidorm is all about.

“There is cheap booze and references to Sticky Vicky, but that’s not the only side to it – there is so much more to Benidorm than that.

“I just wanted to show what a fantastic resort it is.

“There’s so much to see and do – you could come on holiday here possibly seven or eight times, stay in different areas, and still have a completely different holiday every time.

“Just because it is the best place in Europe for a party, that’s not all of what it’s about.”

As she states, Lucy wanted to explore the wider Benidorm and Facebook videos of the old town, Poniente beach and others led to a link-up with Phil’s YouTube channel in February, 2020.

She had already built up an 11,000-strong following by that point, but a visit to ‘the cross’, and then the start of the dreaded pandemic last Spring really brought ‘The Benidorm Enthusiast’ much more into focus as Lucy began to report on the goings-on for all those now stuck back in the UK pining for their beloved holiday heaven.

“We knew straight away we needed to film this new situation in Benidorm,” added Lucy.

“It was a historic event, it was crazy what was happening.

“It was so sad to see the tourists being rounded up and the bars closing.

“Since then, though, people have really appreciated the efforts we have been going to to keep them informed.

“People in the UK wouldn’t have had a clue because the British press couldn’t get here.

“I would like to think we’ve helped lift spirits among the Brits watching at home.

“Personally I do like to push positive thinking (Lucy always says ‘stay positive and stay safe’ at the end of EVERY video) and urge people to keep their chins up and things like that, because it can be a very slippery slope if you haven’t got something to look forward to.

“’We will get through this’ is the message I try and get over, and to be honest the feedback I’ve had has been amazing – it’s helped get me through all this as well, to be honest.

“It’s kept my spirits lifted knowing that people appreciate what we’re doing. It’s definitely been a two-way thing.”

Running the ‘Benidorm stuff’ YouTube channel has become something of a full-time job for Lucy and Phil lately, but sadly for her legions of followers she admits that the video-making might have to go ‘on the back burner’ for a while next month when her regular Bar Manager job must take priority when the resort’s popular Winner’s Bar re-opens.

The almost non-stop research, then filming and editing do take up lots of time, but she has vowed never to give up the channel completely, so keep watching!

Check out Lucy’s YouTube channel, and all her amazing videos from arguably Europe’s most popular-ever holiday destination, by clicking here

Don't forget you can also follow Lucy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik-Tok at 'The Benidorm Enthusiast'.

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