TV3’s The Holiday Programme is once again to be presented by one of Kilkenny’s own - TV presenter Ciara Whelan.
Get ready for sun, sea, sightseeing, and adventure this season with the return of TV3’s fun-filled and action-packed travel series, The Holiday Show.
The show is the brainchild of Ciara Whelan who hails from Johnswell in Co Kilkenny along with her partner of six years Jon Slattery.
Ms Whelan and Mr Slattery developed The Holiday Show when they became frustrated by the lack of information available on destinations.
Speaking to the Kilkenny Advertiser this week, Ms Whelan said: “We were on a package holiday in Turkey over two years ago and were frustrated with the lack of information on the place. So when we got back home we decided we would research and develop a show that would offer people the chance to really see what holidays were like, where to go, and what fun things to do.
“We have some really exciting holiday destinations in the pipeline for this year’s series from London and Spain to Thailand, India, and South Africa. Over the next 10 weeks, we go from one extreme to the next as we sample the ski slopes of Colorado, get busy in mama's kitchen in the south of Italy, and trek along an ancient pilgrim route in northern Spain. Keep an eye out for our trip to Disneyland, our first experience of a luxury cruise in the Med, and our walk on the wild side in Florida!”
While most of us would love to be jetting off to interesting destinations Ms Whelan finds the travelling part the toughest part of her job.
“If I could cut out the airport and the whole travelling part it would be perfect but that’s not going to happen and we are very fortunate to have our creation on the screen.”
Since their show kicked off last year on TV3 they have received a great response from the public.
“My favourite part about doing The Holiday Show is the public reaction. People will come up to us and will thank us for recommending destinations and tell us about how they’ve had the best holiday ever thanks to our research. That’s the greatest thing about the show,” said Whelan.
Commenting on the second series of The Holiday Show, executive producer and presenter Jon Slattery said: “We are very excited about the second series of The Holiday Show and are delighted to have FBD on board as the series sponsor, making it a bigger and better series with almost twice as many destinations as we had last year. Ciara and I have had lots of fun getting under the skin of each place we visited and have definitely found a great selection of holidays to ensure there is something for everyone."
Director of programming Ben Frow said: “The Holiday Show was such a success for us last year that I'm delighted it’s back for a second, longer, run. We could all do with a bit of sunshine during these dark winter days and this is the show to give it to you.”
As well as catching up with the show every Thursday for 10 weeks, you can also log onto The Holiday Show’s new website, www.theholidayshow.tv to see exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, find and book the best holiday deals around, while picking up a whole host of essential top travel tips from the holiday experts.
The popular series, which airs at 7.30pm on Thursdays, consists of 10 half hour episodes, covering everything from romantic getaways to winter fun. For more information on The Holiday Show, just log onto www.theholidayshow.tv
