Skegness ad 'slur' woman won over by 'best of British' resort

Gina Parkin said she only made the off-the-cuff comment as a joke, but it was then featured in the Lotto advert

A woman featured in a TV advert saying she would holiday "anywhere but Skegness" has been won over by the resort after a VIP tour with the mayor.

In the Lotto ad, people were asked where they would go on a getaway if they won a large sum of money, with Gina Parkin then making the comment.

After apologising for the off-the-cuff remark, she was invited to see what the Lincolnshire seaside town had to offer.

After an extensive tour, Ms Parkin described it as "the best of British".

Ms Parkin fed tigers at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

On her only previous trip, she said the town's nightlife had been "a bit too boozy and raucous for my liking".

Town mayor Danny Brookes accompanied Ms Parkin, her boyfriend and a group of friends as they ticked off some of Skegness's top attractions.

Ms Parkin's Skegness tour itinerary

• Meeting the donkeys on the beach

• Helter skelter ride on the pier

• Water zorbing

• Behind the scenes tour of Skegness Aquarium

• Feeding the tigers at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

• Overnight stay in a converted ex-control tower at RAF Wainfleet

The 40-year-old from Leeds said: "I've had an absolutely amazing weekend, they did everything to try and win me over and they have.

"It was all first class; we were treated like royalty and everyone was so lovely and just super friendly."

Gina Parkin was given a grand tour by Skegness mayor Danny Brookes

Ms Parkin recently returned from 18 months of travelling the world, visiting 21 countries, but said feeding the tigers at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park rivalled the best things she had experienced on the trip.

She said: "When I got back from travelling I had a renewed sense of respect for Britain in general, it was like I was seeing everything again with new eyes.

"I felt a bit bad; Skegness is a beautiful, traditional seaside town with its bright colours, deck chairs - it's the best of British, we should be very proud of it."

Ms Parkin and her boyfriend Simon Saintly gave the resort the thumbs up

The pair dressed up as pirates at Skegness Aquarium

The Lonely Planet travel guide described the resort as "the ABC of the English seaside - amusements, bingo and candy-floss, and added that "culture vultures will probably run a mile".

Tourism bosses in Skegness previously came under fire themselves for using unflattering images of Blackpool and Brighton in a bid to promote the resort.