BBC axes 'Holiday' after 37 years

[BGonaSTICK]

BBC One bosses have announced they are to axe the long-running Holiday programme.

The travel show will be replaced in March by new magazine programme The One Show in a scheduling shake-up.

Reporters who have worked for the programme over the years include Joan Bakewell, Sarah Kennedy and Esther Rantzen. Even Cameron Diaz once appeared in a show from Belize.

Former presenters paid tribute to the programme's success and said it was sad to see it go. "It's a real pity," commented John Carter, a reporter until 1987. "There was nothing like it before we started and it was a great programme in its heyday. The travel industry hated us at first because nobody had dared criticise them before."

Cliff Michelmore worked on the show for its first 17 years. He said: "It started as a strictly consumer show, and was very successful. It's changed a lot since then, of course."

A corporation spokesman confirmed: "Holiday has been hugely successful. However, now is the time to bring this programme to an end. The way people organise holidays is changing and we are looking for new ways of approaching this subject."