| Presenter: | Julian Pettifer (1985–88) Sarah Kennedy (1989–91) Elton Welsby (1993) |
| Voices: | Charles Foster |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 8 |
| Num Episodes: | 103 |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Company: | Granada Television |
| Channel: | ITV |
Busman's Holiday is a British television game show produced by Granada for the ITV network from 26 February 1985 to 28 June 1993. Its hosts over the years were Julian Pettifer (1985–88), Sarah Kennedy (1989–91) and Elton Welsby (1993). Charles Foster was the announcer.[1]
The phrase "busman's holiday" is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as a period of holiday or leisure time spent doing something similar to one's normal occupation, first shown to be used in 1893.[2]
Contestants were divided into competing teams of three based upon career, at first three teams and later in the series just two teams. They were dressed in their regular work clothes. The winning team went on an exotic holiday where they had to work, to learn how their jobs were performed in other locations.[3]
The format of the programme consisted of multiple rounds of quizzing: world geography, questions of the other's profession or brain teasers, questions of their own profession—sometimes quite embarrassing, and questions on a final destination—revealing which team had conducted the best research prior to the match. There was also a review of the prior week's winning contestants' holiday.
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 February 1985 | 21 May 1985 | 13 | |
| 2 | 7 January 1986 | 1 April 1986 | 13 | |
| 3 | 6 January 1987 | 24 March 1987 | 12 | |
| 4 | 11 February 1988 | 5 May 1988 | 13 | |
| 5 | 8 March 1989 | 31 May 1989 | 13 | |
| 6 | 25 April 1990 | 18 July 1990 | 13 | |
| 7 | 12 June 1991 | 28 August 1991 | 13 | |
| 8 | 5 April 1993 | 28 June 1993 | 13 |