'Holiday' programme axed after 37 years

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Jill Dando: The late TV presenter was a Holiday programme anchor.

For 37 years it has been a family favourite, bringing viewers images of sun-drenched beaches and exotic getaways and providing a much-needed antidote to drab British winters.

But now BBC1 has taken the surprise decision to axe its flagship travel show Holiday as part of a major shake-up of its schedules.

The show, which has featured TV legends such as Jill Dando, Frank Bough, Des Lynam and Cliff Michelmore, will end in March to make way for a new daily magazine programme, The One Show.

Holiday's early years are remembered as much for its shots of bikini-clad sunbathers as its hard-hitting reports on events such as the collapse of Laker Airways.

It has featured reports by dozens of big names including Joan Bakewell, Sarah Kennedy, Esther Rantzen, Maureen Lipman, Julie Walters, David Soul - and even Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz.

Former presenters said they were disappointed the BBC was axing the longest-running travel show on British TV.

John Carter, who reported for the programme until 1987, said: "It's a real pity. There was nothing like it before we started and it was a great programme in its heyday. The travel industry hated us at first because nobody had dared criticise them before."

Cliff Michelmore, who presented the show for its first 17 years, said: "It started as a strictly consumer show, and was very successful. It's changed a lot since then, of course."

When it was launched in 1969, Holiday required special permission from BBC governors to feature brand names and prices. The first resort featured was Torremolinos in Spain, while a report about sewage on beaches in Ibiza caused a minor diplomatic row with Spain.

Michelmore was replaced in 1986 by Frank Bough, who quit when he became mired in a sex and drugs scandal. Des Lynam and Anneka Rice had short stints as hosts, and Jill Dando took over in 1993. It is currently presented by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Cameron Diaz made her appearance in 2003 when the production team stumbled across her in Belize and persuaded her to front a report about a proposed dam threatening the rainforest - even though it involved her getting up at 6am.

The show remains popular. Last week's edition was seen by 4.37million people - considerably more than the average 3.3million who watched The One Show, presented by Adrian Chiles and Nadia Sawalha, during its four-week test run this summer.

The BBC is likely to give more details of how The One Show, dubbed the new Nationwide, will affect schedules next week. Real Story with Fiona Bruce has been axed, and Watchdog and A Question Of Sport get new slots.

The BBC said: "Holiday has been hugely successful. However now is the time to bring this programme to an end. The way people organise holidays is changing and we are looking for new ways of approaching this subject."

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