Holiday (TV series)

Holiday is a British television programme, which aired mainly on BBC One, and sometimes on BBC Two. It is the longest running travel review series on UK television, showing every year from 1969 until its demise in 2007.

Overview

The programme began in 1969 as Holiday 69, and until the early 2000s the year was included in the title in this way. The first presenter was Cliff Michelmore, who remained with the series until 1986. In 1974, competitor network ITV launched its own travel show, Wish You Were Here...?, which ran until 2003.

Each week the programme consisted of reports made by presenters visiting holiday resorts and destinations in both the UK or overseas. The locations would be reviewed based on criteria such as amenities, attractions, and hospitality. Despite the programme's interesting locations and resorts, it garnered a reputation for featuring destinations that the majority of viewers would be unable to afford.

The programme spawned several short-lived offshoot programmes, including:

Summer Holiday (1994–2002)

Holidays Out (1995–1998)

Holiday: Fasten Your Seatbelt (1996–98), in which presenters tried out holiday-related jobs)

Holiday on a Shoestring (1999)

Holiday Snaps (1999–2002)

Holiday: You Call the Shots – in which viewers advised the presenters which sites to visit in a particular destination prior to filming (2001–03)

It was announced by the BBC in November 2006 that after 37 years and 40 series, Holiday would end in March 2007 at the conclusion of its current run.

Presenters

Many presenters appeared in the programme, including Cliff Michelmore, Ginny Buckley, Joan Bakewell, Anne Gregg, Frank Bough, Des Lynam, Eamonn Holmes, Anneka Rice, Richard Whiteley, Trevor Nelson, Jill Dando, Rizwana Lateef, Craig Doyle and Nana Akua.