A heads up for a series that I will very much look forward to. It is a follow up to two (or is it three?) previously successful road trips that took in Italy, and the UK. There may have been a third series (I think Spain). Some of the humour in it is either entertaining or annoying depending on how much you like the hosts: Steve Coogan (who recently played Stan Laurel) and comedian Rob Brydon (famous in UK’s Gavin and Stacey).

I think I may be watching it on my own as Mrs Lyon isn’t a big fan of its style. She loved the more straightforward broadcast by Julia Bradbury (ITV) who also visited the Greek Islands. Regardless, the Greek Island scenery and restaurants visited will be well worth a look.

It is broadcast on Tuesday 3rd March at 10pm on Sky One and NOW TV.

Much prefer the Julia Bradbury version and the more gritty Simon Reeve version of the Greek Islands. Steve Coogan is an instant switch off for me, with Rob Brydon only marginally better. Coogan belongs to the Hugh Grant school of "poor me" and annoys the hell out of me.

You have to remember these road trips are totally scripted and are not intended as a serious travelogue.

I'm usually jealous of the BBC shows that we cannot get in America, but this one, not so much.

The title “Greek Island Road Trip” already has me laughing. I don’t often watch Sky 1 programs, but will give that one a try.

Thanks for the 'heads up', as I am planning a trip to Greece in October (although only to Athens and the mainland). It will get me in the mood!.

I have watched the series 'My Greek Odyssey' on Amazon, and while HE is really annoying, sailing through the Greek Islands on his 4-bed tackily decorated yacht, I really loved the beauty of Greece.

Also watched Julia Bradbury Greece (on Britbox) and Simon Reeves (BBC).

Regards Ger

I just checked, and the program is actually called “The Trip to Greece”, which makes a lot more sense. I’ll have a look at the first episode, but doubt I will keep up with the series.
https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2...ate-locations/

Travelerjan, BBC is great, but a lot of the best programs are on ITV and other commercial channels. BBC has trouble competing when its only income is from TV licenses, which we all have to pay whether we watch BBC or something else. This year the annual license fee will increase to £154.50.

Sky TV satellite channels and Netflix are also very popular here, but of course that costs extra. The Sky Atlantic channel has many programs from HBO, and we even get PBS America. When I go back to the US I hardly ever watch television, unless my brother’s family are watching baseball or football.

Heimdall, the TV licence increases to £157.50 from April, but the over 75 free version is still being argued about.

Rubicund, you are right - £157.50. As I am now 77 I've enjoyed the free TV license for the last couple years, but am prepared to pay again from June when when the concession ends. I don't hold much hope for the decision to be reversed, but eventually BBC funding will probably be through subscription rather than licenses.

When I first came to the UK there were detector vans with antennae on the roof roaming the streets looking for houses where people were watching television without a license. It reminded me of the old WWII films where the Gestapo searched for spies transmitting messages by morse code. Nowadays, when nearly everyone has a device capable of receiving television signals, they knock on doors of addresses that according to their data base don't have a license, much to the annoyance of people who never watch TV.

BBC is still a bargain, and if they play with it, as they will, you and I and everyone will be losing a lot for the sake of some Populist politico dogma.
The BBC should never have to cover the cost of free TV licences, a decision which they had foisted upon them a few years ago by George Osborne. Gordon Brown introduced them in 1999 and the government paid for them.

I would be happy to pay to watch iPlayer or Britbox, but that is not an option outside the UK and the US. And yes we do pay for watching the BBC in the Netherlands.

I didn't mean to restrict myself on British offerings to BBC, I meant all of UK television ... there are many programs that never make it across the pond, which I know I'd enjoy .,.. usually "cultural" in nature. Our public TV meanwhile keeps running and running and running motheaten series like "Are you being Served?"... while we can't see programs featuring the likes of Brittany Hughes. Luckily, I can get BBC radio programs as free downloads, and those are great helps in getting me to put in an hour's walk in milder weather ... nothing like a couple of slow-talking Oxbridge Dons to keep me trudging along the Schuykill footpath.