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Holiday
Format	Travel
Starring	Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	29 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One
Original run	1969 – 2007

Holiday was a long-running UK television programme on BBC One, and was the oldest travel review show on UK television. It was aired on the channel from 1969 until 2007.

Overview

The programme began in 1969 as Holiday 69, and until the 1990s 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 its popularity led to ITV launching a rival show, Wish You Were Here...?.

Each week, the programme consisted of several reports in which one of the presenters visited a holiday resort and reviewed the attractions of the region. Despite the programme's obvious attraction as escapism, over the years it was criticised for featuring destinations that the majority of viewers would be unable to afford.

The programme spawned several short-lived offshoot programmes, including Summer Holiday; Holiday: Fasten Your Seatbelt (1996-98, in which presenters tried out holiday-related jobs); Holiday: You Call the Shots - in which viewers advised the presenters which sites to visit in a particular destination prior to filming; and Holiday on a Shoestring (1999).

It was announced by the BBC in November 2006, that after a record 37 years on air, Holiday would end at the end the season that was running at the time of the announcement in March 2007.

The programme's time slot is now filled by The One Show.

Presenters

Many presenters came and went over the history of the programme, the most notable being Ginny Buckley, Peter Whelpton, Joan Bakewell, Anne Gregg, Frank Bough, John Carter, Desmond Lynam, Eamonn Holmes, Anneka Rice, Jill Dando, and Craig Doyle.

In addition, the teams of "reporters" who provided regular reviews from holiday destinations have included Sarah Kennedy, Bill Buckley, Kieran Prendiville, Fyfe Robertson, Kathy Tayler, Monty Don and Carol Smillie. The final presenter was Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Trivia

Gordon Giltrap's Heartsong was used as a theme tune until the end of the 1985 series, when it was replaced by specially composed music by Simon May. This proved unpopular, and was replaced the following year by a further Giltrap composition. In 1988, Paul Hardcastle then composed new music called The Voyager. This theme was used throughout the 1990s and 2000s until the programme came to an end after 37 years in 2007. The original theme tune for the series prior to Heartsong was Love's The Castle.

One of the destinations visited on the very first show in 1969 was Torremolinos.

External links

• Holiday at BBC Online
• Holiday at the Internet Movie Database