About this episode
This episode reflects on the legacy of Judith Chalmers and discusses the changing nature of travel and television.
Judith Chalmers has died at the age of 90, bringing to a close one of the most remarkable careers in British broadcasting. In this episode of Mark and Pete, we remember the woman who became the face of travel television and helped generations of Britons discover the wider world long before smartphones, online booking forms and budget airline baggage disputes became part of everyday life. For decades, Judith Chalmers presented Wish You Were Here…? , introducing viewers to beaches, cities, mountains and holiday destinations across the globe. She belonged to an era when foreign travel still felt exciting, slightly glamorous and occasionally mysterious. A package holiday was a treat. The airport was somewhere people actually looked forward to visiting. Strange, but apparently true. Mark and Pete reflect on Chalmers’ legacy and ask a slightly awkward question. Why does travelling feel harder today than it did twenty or thirty years ago? We have apps for everything, instant translation, online maps, digital boarding passes and enough technology in our pockets to guide a moon landing. Yet somehow a weekend abroad now involves passwords, security queues, parking charges, delayed flights…
People in this episode
Hosts: Mark, Pete
Topics covered
- Judith Chalmers
- travel television
- nostalgia
- modern convenience
- British broadcasting
Keywords
- Judith Chalmers
- travel
- television
- nostalgia
- broadcasting
- modern travel
- Wish You Were Here
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Wish You Were Here…?
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