Brendan reflects on 'Coach Trip'

There have been plenty of colourful characters on this series of Coach Trip. Holly and Taryn bitched, Ann and Grace laughed, James and Tracy schemed - and young Tom bared his buttocks. On multiple occasions. But we all know who the real star of the show was: larger-than-life tour guide Brendan Sheerin. Last week we sat down for a coffee and a chat with the legendary host to reminisce about the highs and lows of this year's series.

How do you think this series has compared to the previous two?
"I think the first two series were good, but this series has really made Coach Trip a cult programme to watch. First of all from the travelogue aspect, where anybody at home can see all these wonderful sights. Then the other side of it is the reality aspect, where you get to see all these couples - you love them or you hate them. That's the success of the programme, really."

Who were your favourite couple this series?
"There were several couples that I got on with. William and Deanne were good, because William was always interested in whatever I said geographically or historically. James was like that as well - a very bright guy and knew a lot of things. So intellectually I clicked with them. The funniest has to be the Leeds girls, Ann and Grace, though. I never stopped laughing with them. They swore, they smoked, they didn't like the food... they were quite hardened ladies and a lot of fun."

And what was your favourite moment?
"I think the moment for me comically was the accordion player. He was like the Stevie Wonder of the accordion world, with his eyes closed and his head rolling. We were choking with laughter. It was infectious. Even the cameramen were laughing!"

Do you think there's a couple who went before they should have?
"I think the boys, Joey and Luke. I felt sorry for them actually, because Ann and Grace were so angry at them and the alliance was still in force. They had six people against them, and I think Matt and Tom were jealous that they might scupper their chances of them going, so they got rid of them straight away."

What did you think of Graham and Ivy from the first week?
"Ivy was really fun. She used to come down with a different coloured wig on every day. Things change, alliances change and people fall out of favour - and as soon as she saw this she got quite bitter. She had sayings like 'you're like meat with no gravy'. I don't know where she got that from! I think Graham wanted to be like one of the young boys and in on everything. I think he knew he was on the way out, and if it wasn't for his wedding anniversary, I think he would have been out the day before. The group were quite good like that. We don't film on Sunday, and Sunday was their anniversary, so they had the day off. He didn't help himself by being so angry with the group."

Is it sometimes hard for you to remain impartial?
"Not really. As I always say, I'm neutral, I'm Switzerland. And I have to be like that. I can hear things and sometimes see little whispers but I don't discuss [the vote] with them. I must admit, they never come up to me and ask what to do. I've never let it go that far."

At one point on the trip you recalled having a fantastic time in San Francisco in your youth. What really happened there?
"1982! I was 19 and it was the first time I'd ever been to California. We did LA, Las Vegas and ended up in San Francisco. We just had a wonderful time. I was 19 years of age, English, and you can imagine the Americans: 'I love your accent!' and all that. I just said to one of them. 'Get on that cable car, you've pulled'. And that was it! But you could do that in those days."

Do you think you could ever do a Coach Trip across America?
"I think we could. In fact we were talking about doing the Golden Triangle. If you flew everybody to LA, and we had a big American coach, then you could do LA, Las Vegas, up to San Francisco and then back down again on Highway 101. There's so much to see in California. But it's all a matter of cost, because wherever we are, you have to remember that the couple voted off have to be flown home, and then a replacement couple have to be flown back out. It's quite expensive. But it could be on the cards, you never know."

When did you find out that Coach Trip was coming back for a third series?
"I think it was shelved for economic reasons after the second series. Then all of a sudden the powers that be at Channel 4 had a look at it again and decided they wanted to do series three. I was rang in January 2008 and they said 'would you be interested?' and then it was confirmed to me in May that we'd be definitely going in the September. That's when I started doing my research - planning the route, then my history and geography."

Have you heard about a fourth series?
"No, I haven't. Not yet. It's all on budgets so we'll see what happens. I think everybody at Channel 4's happy though."

Do you stay in touch with any of the contestants after they leave?
"Not really, I don't choose to. Once I left them at Prague airport in this series, they flew to London, I flew to Barcelona and then back to Malaga and I left it at that. The only one I have kept in touch with is Tim from series two. He was on with his friend Paul. The only one who started to ring me was Pasquale from the first series. He got my mobile number from the call sheet at the front of the coach! He kept ringing me and asked if he could be my PA on the next series."

We've been speaking to Matt and Tom recently and they had a couple of questions for you. First, were they your favourites?
"They weren't really my favourite. But they were the most popular - tell them that!"

Also they want to know if they can come stay with you in Spain?
"Oh I don't know! It depends how long they're coming for. As long as they've got their own money, they can stay."

What did you make of young Tom's romance?
"I knew in Lucerne because I came back late one night and saw them going in the same room together. I reported it straight away - I said 'they're definitely sleeping together!'"

You've had lots of support from posters on the Digital Spy forums. Do you have a message for your fans?
"I'd like to say thankyou very much for all your support and the interest in the programme. Who knows, here's to series four - fingers crossed!"

Additional reporting by Kris Green and Nick Levine

What were your highlights of this year's Coach Trip? Add your comments to this entry below!

Posted Friday, July 3 at 17:30 by Neil

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TV Poll: Was it right to axe 'Robin Hood'?

Last week we presented you with a selection of new series coming to US screens over the next year. Which are you most looking forward to seeing? It turns out that the majority of you can't wait to feast your eyes on ABC's FlashForward, which gained 40.7% of the vote.

80's sci-fi remake V came a close second with 30.6%, followed by The CW's Melrose reboot, which 12.7% of you voted for. Day One and Human Target fared less well, with 10.6% and 5.5% of the vote respectively.

This week we're gauging opinion on the BBC's decision to axe Robin Hood after three series.

In the series finale - broadcast on Saturday - poor Robin (Jonas Armstrong) was killed off alongside the evil Guy of Gisburne (Richard Armitage). Despite losing the titular character, the BBC had been planning a fourth series - although poor ratings put a nail in Robin's freshly-laid coffin.

But was it the right decision? Could Robin Hood have continued without Jonas? Cast your vote below, then opine with words in the usual space at the end of this entry!



Check back in next Wednesday for the result.

Posted Friday, July 3 at 09:03 by Neil

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