The Weekend Travel Show: release date, interviews and everything we know

The Weekend Travel Show has Richard Arnold and Kym Marsh on hand to help with all our travel needs in this handy series that covers everything from where to go on holiday to budget-saving tips and essential gadgets for travelers. 

The pair, who are long-term friends, will host from the studio as we follow seasoned celebrity travelers including Jane McDonald, Larry and George Lamb, Nick Knowles and Susan Calman to a wide range of destinations, ranging from the Seychelles to the Lake District.

There’s also a hilarious campervan trip with the stars of Celebrity 5 Go Motorhoming, Don Warrington, Lesley Joseph, Cleo Rocos, Melvyn Hayes and Nick Heywood. And for those looking to book their own trip, holiday guru Simon Calder will join Kym and Richard to answer travel-related questions and share his own holiday hacks and hints. 

"It’s a good mix of fun and information," says former Coronation Street and Waterloo Road star Kym. "There’s some really good advice and there’s something for everyone, whether you are going abroad or staying in the UK.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new Channel 5 series The Weekend Travel Show…

The Weekend Travel Show release date

The Weekend Travel Show is an eight-part series starting on Channel 5 on Saturday, January 11 2025 at 11.30 am.

Is there a trailer? 

No but if Channel 5 releases one, we’ll add it to this page. 

What happens in The Weekend Travel Show 

The Weekend Travel Show will see Kym Marsh and Richard Arnold report from the studio as we follow a host of celebrities on their travels. The pair will share their own holiday memories – and photos – and try out everything from new travel gadgets to challenges such as packing light. They will also chat with holiday expert Simon Calder, who will give advice on getting the best deals and making the most of our holidays.

The Weekend Travel Show hosts — Kym Marsh and Richard Arnold

Kym Marsh found fame when she entered ITV's reality show Popstars in 2001 and won a place in the band Hear’Say. She left the band in 2002 to go solo and then turned to acting. She played Michelle Connor in Coronation Street from 2006 to 2019 and has also been on Popstar to Operastar, Morning Live, Loose Women, The Syndicate and Waterloo Road. She was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2022.

Richard Arnold has presented on Good Morning Britain since 2014 and has also been on Daybreak, GMTV, Loose Lips, Soapstar Superchef, Take It Or Leave It, Countdown and The Sunday Show. He appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and has had roles on Neighbours, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Shameless and Hustle. 

Meet the celebrity travellers 

The Weekend Travel Show will include segments from Jane McDonald, Susan Calman, George and Larry Lamb, Ore Oduba, Alexander Armstrong, Nick Knowles, Alex Polizzi, Don Warrington, Lesley Joseph, Cleo Rocos, Melvyn Hayes and Nick Heywood.

Kym Marsh interview on The Weekend Show

What was your favourite holiday? 
Kym Marsh says: "It’s a difficult one for me because I’m not as well travelled as Richard. We established that on the show. I have experienced many different types of holidays over the years. I’m from quite a big family and I did a lot of family holidays as a child. Some of it was camping in the UK but my dad also pulled a caravan all the way to Spain. Then equally I’ve taken away my children as they’ve got older and we’ve experienced a lot of different things. It's very difficult to pinpoint a particular place but the one that would spring to mind for me is Cyprus. The reason for that is I’ve got a lot of very happy memories of my children there. The last time we went, Polly was only four months old and we made friends with the family that owned the hotel and went round to their house. They were so friendly and we did barbecues with them and the food was incredible. They were brilliant with the children and it just brings back quite a lot of happy memories. The funny thing was that every time we went to Cyprus, my dad broke his toe. Without fail. And one of the last times we went, in one day he broke his toe and he burnt the top of his head and the soles of his feet."

Do you guys get to jet off anywhere for the show? 
"Sadly not. We just spend our time in Camden. We had fun though. Maybe next series if we get a next series."

Have you had any holiday disasters?
"I’ve experienced quite a few disastrous things. I remember when I went to Cyprus and Polly was a baby and I packed all of my baby milk into one suitcase and of course they lost that suitcase, so Polly had zero food and I had to try and find an alternative in Cyprus. Polly was a premature baby so she had reflex problems and she was on a specific milk and of course they didn’t have that. So my top tip for parents is never ever put all of your milk into one suitcase because if it goes missing, that’s you done. I’ve had a few missing suitcase situations. I remember the very first time we went abroad on holiday on a plane, we went to Lloret de Mar in Spain. It rained every single day we were there. All my dad had brought was this tiny little case, almost like a briefcase with just pants and things in it and he hadn’t brought any other clothes. They were building a hotel right next to ours and it was so noisy. I actually remember being in the swimming pool anyway, even though it was raining. It’s what you make of it isn’t it?"

How would you sum up this show? 
"It’s a good mix of fun and information. It is really informative but it’s such a laugh as well. It’s really quite uplifting, especially in January when you’re coming out of winter and you are looking at all of these beautiful places to go. Whether that’s in the UK or abroad and whether it’s a family holiday or a cruise or whatever, it’s lovely and pulls you out of that winter feeling. It’s a nice warm, friendly show and it does give some good tips and tricks, no matter your budget or where you are going. It’s really handy and it’s got some really good advice. One of my favourite things is the gadgets. All I did was make Richard do everything and I was wetting myself with laughter. Seeing him put on this pillow that you wear over your head was one of the most hysterical things I’ve ever seen in real life. I just kept thinking of Richard on the tube with it on."

Did you enjoy watching the celebrities on their travels? 
"We loved going on the journeys with them and seeing what they got up to and how they felt about the places they visited. It was all great fun. Cleo Rocos made me laugh when they were travelling in the Winnebago. There is a lot of comedy. We just sat there going ‘What on earth is going on? It is one of those moments where you look at the screen and think ‘What are we watching?’ It’s genius and very funny. We very much enjoyed that segment." 

Who would be your ideal travel companion? 
"Whenever I go on holiday, I go with my family so it’s a tricky one. I’ve been on holiday with (Coronation Street actress) Alison King several times and we’re obviously very close. We’ve been away on our own and with our children and that’s always nice and good fun. I think as long as you’re with someone who is a good friend and knows you, you can’t really go wrong. I’d like to have a little trip with Richard Arnold. We had so much fun doing the show. We’ve known each other for many years but we’ve never worked together properly. We need to go on a little trip somewhere. It would be so much fun." 

Where would you take Richard Arnold on holiday? 
"I’d like to do a safari with Richard. That would be fun. Just three days because three days on safari is always enough. We’ll probably end up in Scarborough though."  

You don’t like flying so how do you cope with it? 
"I used to be much worse with flying than I am now. I do fly because in order to go to these places I have to fly. So sometimes I’m better than others and I genuinely think that experience starts in the airport. So if I’m less stressed and have a decent experience there, I’m not as stressed when I get onto the flight. I don’t particularly like flying alone. That makes me feel much worse. I’m better if I’m with my family or my friends. I remember going on holiday with my dad and he sat next to me and at the end of it, he said ‘Well all of your fingernails are in my hand’ because I’d been clutching his hand the whole time. It’s literally just the take-off and turbulence. If there’s no turbulence, I’m fine. Landing I’m not worried about because it’s like ‘oh we're here now.’ I do like to have a drink before I fly. That gives me a bit of Dutch courage. If I’m with other people, I try and chat it out. I try to take my mind off it and have a little look at the Duty Free – which is always the same! There’s never anything different in those books is there? It’s always the same aftershave. I don’t think I could focus properly on reading a book at that point. My mind would be too focused on what’s going on and I would have to read the page about three times to get it in. I think travel companions are always good. If I’m with someone else, I tend to be alright." 

Do you pack light or take everything in your wardrobe? 
"I try to pack light. For me, I feel like the mistake is always overpacking. I don’t know if it’s a me thing but I sit there as a woman going, but I might need a dress for that. What if I go there, or what do I need for lunch there. Actually what I do is just put a sarong on and leave my bikini top on. I always used to take too much and now as I’ve got older, I’ve learnt that lesson. The trouble is now that I’ve got a 13-year-old daughter who does exactly the same. She puts her entire wardrobe in but to be fair she does wear most of it." 

Will you invest in any of the gadgets on the show? 
"I liked the pocket-sized projector, that was good. It’s good if you’re going somewhere and you can download some movies and project it onto the side of your campervan or villa or lodge or wherever you are and entertain the family." 

Was there any advice on the show you’ll be listening to? 
"I think the ideas Simon Calder has, particularly surrounding budgets are really important and that’s something you could really take home. We are living in a world at the moment where perhaps some are feeling it more than others and we’ve had a financial crisis on our hands but what is great is Simon does give alternatives for those with a budget in mind which I think is so important. He has got some cracking ideas. He definitely is the guru." 

Are our kids missing out on vintage camping trips and things because of the way we go on holiday now? 
"I don’t think so at all. Knowing my family, my children often go camping. With David and Emily, we did that a lot when they were children. Their dad in particular was good at taking them camping and making it an adventure. We’ve done adventures like that as a family. When lockdown had slightly lifted but we weren’t allowed to go abroad, we had a UK family holiday in Scarborough and stayed in some little lodges and did an adventure holiday with zip wires and Go Ape and a Bear Grylls type experience and face painting and they had the best time and so did I. It made me think I’d do that again regardless. If you’ve got people in your family that can pass that on, who have done that themselves, there’s always room for that."

Do you have a bucket list destination? 
"I’m going to take a break early next year. I’ve had a really busy year with one thing and another and I could do with a holiday. I’ve gone from one job to another, which I’m not complaining about because it’s been wonderful, but I’m at that point where I need to go on holiday. I’ve decided to experience something new. I don’t know where but I’ve decided I want to experience a health retreat abroad."

Richard Arnold interview on The Weekend Travel Show

What was your best ever holiday? 
Richard Arnold says: "I’m a keen forager whenever I go on holidays. Food is everything for me. I always think bad food will repeat on you every time, bad company you can always make better by singing for your supper. Any holiday that has a food element to it, I’m thrilled with. Wherever you’ve been, as you look back over your travels that you’ve been on, is always a reflection of where you were at that particular time so it’s almost impossible to nail down what was your favourite destination because obviously you are a different person every time you go to different places. I’m just happy as long as I’m on the move to be quite honest. High end or low end, you are always in the best end as long as I’m packed and I’m ready for it. Much of my travel was through work if I’m really honest but I remember fondly going on holidays when I was a nipper with mum and dad on the Isle of Wight and I remember being about 12-years-old and there was still a plastic sheet on the bed. Not because I was prone to soil linen when I went on holiday but because we were always in the family room. So I remember that as fondly as I do the more exotic trips I’ve been lucky enough to have through Good Morning Britain. I loved Japan. I was lucky enough to go out there and cover a week of the World Cup in autumn 2019 and that was a dream destination for me. That was a real treat. But if I’m the move, I’m just very happy. 

So, you and Kym don’t get to travel for the series? 
"Like the viewers at home, we are living vicariously through the various celebrities who hit the road during the show. And we really enjoyed that actually and I think the viewers will really enjoy that too. Kym and I were very firmly rooted on terra firma in the studio in Camden. When someone said do you fancy doing a travel show, you and Kym Marsh together called The Weekend Travel Show, I was like ‘that would be amazing’. Then it was like ‘no need to pack’. It would be lovely if we could spread our wings in the next series. We’ve known each other so long that when we started hosting the show together, we hit the ground running. So that was great but we had to settle in the warm glow of our sizzling chemistry rather than actually getting any sun anywhere. But we did like it."

Have you had any holiday disasters? 
"I’ll start with what happened to me this summer. I was coming back from Greece and we were all about to board the plane on the tarmac and we were sent back into the terminal. Two hours later they found an engineer to fix whatever the problem was with the plane. We all got on the plane, we were fed and watered and then as the plane was about to take off, it stopped and then went back to the terminal. We were all deplaned and we got off the plane, piled into buses and cars and were taken to a hotel under cover of darkness. We had no idea where we were going and as we were all checking into this hotel one chap said, ‘oh this has all gone a little bit White Lotus’. I said one of us might not make it through the night. But the next day we woke up and got back on the buses to get back on the plane. The plane was delayed by a further few hours and by the time we eventually got back to London I felt like I had Stockholm Syndrome because I didn’t want to leave the people I’d been trapped with for the past 24 hours. We enjoyed it anyway and we were all in it together so we enjoyed the theatre of it. We did eventually get back in one piece."

Did you enjoy doing the challenges on the series? 
"We were challenged on the show to do all sorts of things, trying out travel hacks and gadgets but the towel-folding one absolutely floored me. The owl towels you get at the end of your bed if you go on a cruise like Jane McDonald frequently does. I thought it was going to be a towering effort but in the end it all turned a bit flaccid." 

 How would you describe the series? 
"We live vicariously through all the travel packages the celebrities are going on. We did learn some pretty cracking travel hacks and Simon Calder, the go-to guru for travel, was a regular guest so that was terrific. Whenever Simon speaks, you listen. He is just fantastic. So that was great. Kym and I also learnt an awful lot about each other. We do overshare quite a lot on the show about our own travel adventures. They are very much relatable to anyone who has travelled I think. I think for us it was an eye-opener. Whether it’s high-end or low-end, it’s what you make it. You are still colouring it in so to speak. That is certainly something we did on the Weekend Travel Show. We coloured it in on every episode. We were doing an item on travelling light which is my favourite thing and Kym and I were challenged to pack this small carry-on case and it was like playing a game of Jenga. We would have missed the flight anyway by this point. But we did enjoy that. So there were a lot of capers on it but there was some sound advice. The travel pillow was funny. I’d never seen anything like it. I’m game for anything and that’s certainly the case when I’m in the studio with Kym or whether I’m on the road with Great Morning Britain or if I’m travelling with friends and family, I’m game for anything." 

Did you enjoy Jane McDonald’s travels? 
"Jane is not one to travel in a little piece of Tupperware is she, our Jane? She does love a splashy cruise. There’s one particular episode where Jane is in some exotic location and she was having a full breakfast in her own infinitely pool. I found that slightly unsettling because I’m not sure I’d want to be in my budgies or in a two-piece eating breakfast no matter what food you surround me with. She gets to go everywhere. There are some terrific trips back home as well. The coach trips – we loved George and Larry. They ended up in a forest and they had some sort of a tree house. So, what was lovely for us was watching these celebrities, particularly when they were paired up or with a whole band of merry men and women going off on their travels. It brings out the best and worst in people. But it’s terrific living vicariously through them and seeing their adventures". 

Who would be your ideal travel companion? 
"There’s a running gag on the show because I’ve travelled a lot with Kym’s old co-star and my old friend Sue Cleaver. Sue and I have been to several places over the years and in name of elegant economy we always share a bed. Sue and I travel very well indeed together so I have to say I’d gladly go on another fly and flop with her. Kym and I did start out at the beginning thinking it would be good to get away with each other for a fortnight but by the end we were like ‘let’s just do a long weekend and see how it goes.’ I’m kidding. We’d love to go away together because we’ve been on location together many times but mostly in this country. It would be nice to hit the road. I would like to see me and Kym with dirt under our fingernails clinging to the side of a mountain or in a tent on the side of a cliff that is chained to a tree. And spend the night there with a she-wee and a he-wee. That would be the kind of trip I’ve love to do with Kym. I don’t know how she feels about it though." 

Where else would you take Kym Marsh?
"I have a lot of family connections in Australia and I’ve been lucky enough to go there a lot, back in the day with work and in the GMTV days as well. I do love Australia and I’d love to take her there. Some sort of road trip involving a few vineyards would be great. Or we could just rough it in the Outback. I wouldn’t mind doing that with her, I must admit. She suggested a safari and I went on safari many, many years ago and that’s quite an adventure. I wouldn’t mind that, us wafting around in our linens. We’re obviously pitching some quite high-end ideas. When we do eventually do it, it’ll be the end of a pier somewhere and it will be very local." 

Did you enjoy the Winnebago trip with Lesley Joseph, Don Warrington and co? 
"When you read out a list of names like that, I think why on earth didn’t I make the cut? That’s my dream trip. I would love to do something like that. That’s my kind of road trip. Where you end up in all sorts of comedy scrapes and stuff. That to me would be my ideal road trip. That stellar list of names and you’re all in a Winnebago somewhere trawling around. The jeopardy, the minefields we’d encounter on the way." 

Are you a nervous flyer? 
"I love flying. As long as I have got something in my hand at take-off and I land with something in my hand, then I’m a very happy boy. I like a little livener before I get on board. I’ve always loved flying and I had to do a lot of long haul flying early on in my career, and if you were nervous on a long haul flight, you soon manage to talk yourself out of it because you can’t be stressed for 23 hours pitched at that level of terror and jeopardy. Whether in 1A or 43A, wherever you are on a plane I’m just happy we’re going somewhere."

What sort of packer are you?
"Kym talks about just taking stuff you actually need with you. I’m a firm believer in that and I’ve gotten a lot better at it as I’ve got older. It’s hand luggage only and it is absolutely a couple of packs of pants. I always pack my toothbrush and by the time I actually get to use it, the battery is dead because it’s been fizzing around in my hand luggage for goodness knows how long. Packing light, absolutely. I’m quite jealous of women when they travel because they can do that sarong thing. Not that I would necessarily avoid doing the sarong thing but if you’re David Beckham or David Gandy you can carry it off. I can’t really carry off a sarong. A couple of pairs of pants, slip slop slap, the old factor 50 and my toothbrush and I’m ready to go. Kym could take three choice items and style it from day into evening whereas I’m very much one pair of trunks and rinse them out and dry them on the balcony. Sorry to leave you with that visual." 

What are your travel dos and don’ts? 
"Do hang onto your headphones when the plane is taking off. Last summer I ended up scrabbling around the aisle of an Easy Jet flight after everyone got off the plane, trying to find my AirPod case. My AirPod case that had rattled to the end of the flight. I never did find it. I did find a lot of Pringles. And a few empty cans and miniatures. It’s now obviously died because it’s no longer charged. For about three weeks afterwards I was absolutely obsessed with finding out where that charging case had gone. It’s still somewhere in Greece. That was the last known sighting. Hang on to everything as the plane is taking off. Whether I’m on a plane or a train, as soon as we take off I start to drift off because of the hours I keep at Good Morning Britain, so hang onto everything." 

Are you going to invest in any of the gadgets you tried out on the show? 
"There were some gadgets we tried that I thought that’s never going to fly with me. Generally I can be a bit light-fingered when it comes to props. Some of the gadgets were quite out there. I’d love to take away the sunglasses that you could also use a camera and a video, it’s all very Mission impossible, but Kym found that deeply unsettling. Such is the technology these days that it’s no longer just taking pictures. You can literally follow someone around through those sunglasses and see what they are looking at. Kym and I were worried we might be on the raw end of those glasses one day. It’s not the eyeful people really need to see. They had someone on set the whole time making sure we never ran off with any of the gadgets."