Sandi Toksvig returns with a new batch of travelling companions
The presenter prepares to whisk more celebrities away on a fun mini break, says Sarah Morgan
It’s that time of year again, when many of us are thinking about jetting off for a break somewhere or exploring the amazing places on our doorstep.
But where to go? That’s the tricky question. Maybe we could find inspiration in the third series of Sandi Toksvig’s entertaining celebrity travelogue.
The first series aired in 2021, just as the Government downgraded lockdown measures, a positive move but one that still meant few of us were likely to be going anywhere in the near future.
Perhaps that’s why the programme proved so popular – we could enjoy the sights and sounds without leaving home, living vicariously through Sandi and co’s jaunts.
The second series, which popped up last year, was also a hit, so it’s no surprise to see the host back for a third run, in which she will once again be joined by a different travelling companion every week for a trip to somewhere slightly off the beaten track, during which they’ll explore the area while bonding via their experiences and a good, old-fashioned chat.
“There’s something infectious about watching people genuinely having a good time,” says Sandi of the show.
Even though the scene you see on television might only be a couple of minutes long, you know the truth of it is that the laughter carried on for a long time before and a long time after.”
She adds: “The glorious thing with it is that we’re with the same film crew who are also like family, so honestly we just all kind of muck about together.
“The real danger of that of course is that I sometimes forget we’re filming and might say mildly inappropriate things that are probably not suitable for broadcast!
“These are not the type of shows in which someone has got a book to plug or show to sell; we want to genuinely get to know somebody in a relaxed environment where you sort of slightly forget that we’re filming.
“I think you will learn something about each one of them that might both surprise and delight.”
Well, let’s hope so.
In this series Loose Women host Judi Love joins Sandi in Cumbria’s valleys, while After Life star Roisin Conaty meets her in Wales.
Comedian Rosie Jones heads to the North Sea coast in the Midlands and Smack the Pony’s Doon Mackichan is at an eco-resort.
But Sandi’s first guest is comic Suzy Eddie Izzard, who describes herself as genderfluid.
The pair are off to Ireland where they sample the delights of an award-winning timber-clad holiday home in Co Clare, a treehouse handbuilt by a woman in Cork and, finally, a cottage close to a Kerry lake, where Suzy Eddie embarks on her first-ever fishing trip.
Sandi adds: “To spend time with these fantastically funny people has been the utmost joy.”
And who knows, after tuning in, you may feel like booking yourself a well-earned break.
We just all kind of muck about together. The real danger of that of course is I sometimes forget we’re filming and might say mildly inappropriate things that are probably not suitable for broadcast!
■ Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig, Channel 4, Wednesday at 9pm