Kington Langley Scarecrow Festival has been invited by food giant McCain to audition for its adverts screened during breaks in ITV soap Emmerdale.

The winning scarecrow will be seen by up to nine million viewers a night when it appears in the next series of sponsorship ads during the long-running drama.

There is also a prize of £5,000, which Kington Langley could spend on next year’s scarecrow festival.

Though he does not watch Emmerdale at present, festival organiser Steve Howe, 55, said it would be in his viewing schedule if the scarecrows were successful.

He said: “The guy who ran our barbecue at this year’s festival, Des Smith, is now in the Sainsbury’s advert and we’re all jumping up and down every time we see him on the telly, so it would be awesome to see our scarecrows on the telly.”

Mr Howe said he was called out of the blue by McCain asking if they would like to have a go.

He said: “It’s nice to know the festival’s getting out there.

“It is a shame we can’t send this year’s winners as they have been deconstructed, but I know our scarecrows have star quality and I’m sure we will be able to go all the way.

“From a build point of view I think we have every right to be confident. They are nicely made.”

“And £5,000 would be very handy – it would set the festival up for a good couple of years.”

Characters from Sweeney Todd, Maleficent, Singin’ in the Rain, Wicked and Frozen are among the scarecrows that will be put forward to audition from this year’s musical-themed trail, which raised more than £10,000 for local charities.

The prize-winning Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wizard of Oz and Little Shop of Horrors will not be able to go as they have already been dismantled.

Scarecrows from across the UK will be judged in London’s West End on September 30 by ex-Emmerdale star Sheree Murphy, who played Tricia Dingle.

She will be assessing the scarecrows’ creative design, originality, colour and good looks.

The organiser of Urchfont Scarecrow Festival said they decided not to take part in the auditions. See www.scarecrows.biz