Holiday (TV series) explained

Runtime:29 minutes
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
First Aired:[1]
Last Aired:[2]
Num Episodes:622

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.[3]

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:

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, Desmond Lynam, Eamonn Holmes, Anneka Rice, Richard Whiteley, Trevor Nelson, Jill Dando, Rizwana Lateef, Craig Doyle[4] and Nana Akua.[5]

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

Theme tunes

The original theme tune for the series was Love's "The Castle".

Subsequent theme tunes in the mid-1970s included Hugo Montenegro's arrangement of Lalo Schifrin's theme to the 1968 movie The Fox, a cover of the Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun", and Part Five of Jean Michel Jarre's Équinoxe.

Gordon Giltrap's "Heartsong" was used as a theme tune from 1978 until the end of the 1985 series. In 1986 it was replaced with "The Holiday Suite" written by Simon May, who also composed the EastEnders theme. This proved unpopular, and was replaced on Holiday '87 by a further Giltrap composition "Breaking Free" which also only lasted one year. For Holiday '88-'91 they used a third Giltrap composition "Holiday Romance".

In 1992 Paul Hardcastle composed a new theme, titled "Voyager". This theme was used throughout the 1990s and 2000s until the programme came to an end after 37 years in 2007.

Transmissions

Holiday

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 2 January 1969 3 April 1969 14
2 4 January 1970 5 April 1970 14
3 27 November 1970 5 February 1971 10
4 4 November 1971 20 January 1972 12
5 7 December 1972 8 February 1973 10
6 3 January 1974 14 March 1974 10
7 30 December 1974 4 March 1975 10
8 4 January 1976 14 March 1976 10
9 2 January 1977 20 February 1977 8
10 1 January 1978 19 February 1978 8
11 31 December 1978 18 February 1979 8
12 30 December 1979 2 March 1980 10
13 4 January 1981 8 March 1981 10
14 3 January 1982 28 March 1982 13
15 2 January 1983 27 March 1983 13
16 1 January 1984 25 March 1984 13
17 30 December 1984 24 March 1985 13
18 7 January 1986 29 April 1986 17
19 6 January 1987 28 April 1987 17
20 5 January 1988 5 April 1988 14
21 5 January 1989 6 April 1989 14
22 2 January 1990 3 April 1990 14
23 8 January 1991 9 April 1991 14
24 7 January 1992 7 April 1992 14
25 5 January 1993 6 April 1993 14
26 16 November 1993 5 April 1994 20
27 1 November 1994 4 April 1995 21
28 31 October 1995 23 April 1996 24
29 24 September 1996 15 April 1997 26
30 21 October 1997 7 April 1998 25
31 13 October 1998 13 April 1999 23
32 19 October 1999 21 December 1999 10
33 24 October 2000 19 December 2000 10
34 15 October 2001 10 December 2001 9
35 28 October 2002 16 December 2002 8
36 20 October 2003 15 December 2003 9
37 18 October 2004 20 December 2004 9
38 31 October 2005 19 December 2005 7
39 2 October 2006 18 December 2006 12
40 10 January 2007 19 March 2007 10

Summer Holiday

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 31 May 1994 12 July 1994 7
2 27 June 1995 15 August 1995 8
3 11 June 1996 18 July 1996 6
4 10 June 1997 22 July 1997 7
5 26 May 1998 14 July 1998 8
6 25 May 1999 24 August 1999 14
7 6 June 2000 5 September 2000 13
8 12 June 2001 28 August 2001 12
9 24 June 2002 5 August 2002 6

Holiday: Fasten Your Seatbelt

Series Start date End date Episodes
Special 10 December 1996 1
1 29 April 1997 3 June 1997 6
2 14 April 1998 19 May 1998 6
Specials 22 December 1998 20 April 1999 2

Holiday Memories

Celebrity Holiday Memories in 1999

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 9 September 1997 14 October 1997 6
2 7 September 1999 12 October 1999 6

Holiday Guide to....

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 31 January 1999 21 February 1999 4
2 7 November 1999 19 December 1999 6
3 22 October 2000 25 February 2001 8
4 23 June 2002 1 September 2002 5

Holiday on a Shoestring

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 24 February 1999 14 April 1999 6
2 11 April 2000 30 May 2000 9
3 17 April 2001 9 September 2001 8
4 29 April 2002 28 August 2002 8

Holiday Swaps

Series Start date End date Episodes
Special 12 April 1999 1
1 21 January 2000 10 March 2000 8
Special 24 December 2000 1
2 10 May 2001 28 June 2001 8
3 5 January 2003 23 February 2003 6

Holiday: You Call the Shots

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 4 September 2001 16 October 2001 6
Special 17 December 2001 1
2 2 September 2002 21 October 2002 8
3 2 June 2003 30 June 2003 5
4 15 September 2003 13 October 2003 5

Specials

Date Entitle
27 August 1998[6] Vets on Holiday
5 January 1999[7] Holiday Down Under
15 October 2000[8] Round-the-World Special
22 December 2002[9] EastEnders Special

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Holiday 69 - BBC One London - 2 January 1969. 2 January 1969 . BBC Genome Project . 8 June 2017.
  2. Web site: Holiday - BBC One London - 19 March 2007. 19 March 2007 . BBC Genome Project . 8 June 2017.
  3. Web site: West . Dave . BBC axes 'Holiday' after 37 years . . 27 November 2006 . 13 June 2013.
  4. News: 'Holiday' programme axed after 37 years . . 25 November 2006 . 13 June 2013.
  5. Web site: Nana Akua . nanaakua.com . 19 June 2021.
  6. Web site: Vets on Holiday - BBC One London - 27 August 1998 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 27 August 1998 . 6 July 2018.
  7. Web site: Holiday Down Under - BBC One London - 5 January 1999 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 5 January 1999 . 6 July 2018.
  8. Web site: Holiday - Round-the-World Special - BBC One London - 15 October 2000 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 15 October 2000 . 6 July 2018.
  9. Web site: Holiday - EastEnders Special - BBC One London - 22 December 2002 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 22 December 2002 . 6 July 2018.

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