Busman's Holiday is a British television game show produced by Granada for the ITV network from 26 February 1985 to 28 June 1993. Its hosts over the years were Julian Pettifer (1985–88), Sarah Kennedy (1989–91) and Elton Welsby (1993). Charles Foster was the announcer.[1]

Busman's Holiday
Presented byJulian Pettifer (1985–88)
Sarah Kennedy (1989–91)
Elton Welsby (1993)
Voices ofCharles Foster
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series8
No. of episodes103
Production
Running time30 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companyGranada Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release26 February 1985 (1985-02-26) –
28 June 1993 (1993-06-28)

Title

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The phrase "busman's holiday" is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as a period of holiday or leisure time spent doing something similar to one's normal occupation, first shown to be used in 1893.[2]

Format

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Contestants were divided into competing teams of three based upon career, at first three teams and later in the series just two teams. They were dressed in their regular work clothes. The winning team went on an exotic holiday where they had to work, to learn how their jobs were performed in other locations.[3]

The format of the programme consisted of multiple rounds of quizzing: world geography, questions of the other's profession or brain teasers, questions of their own profession—sometimes quite embarrassing, and questions on a final destination—revealing which team had conducted the best research prior to the match. There was also a review of the prior week's winning contestants' holiday.

Transmissions

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Series Start date End date Episodes
1 26 February 1985 21 May 1985 13
2 7 January 1986 1 April 1986 13
3 6 January 1987 24 March 1987 12
4 11 February 1988 5 May 1988 13
5 8 March 1989 31 May 1989 13
6 25 April 1990 18 July 1990 13
7 12 June 1991 28 August 1991 13
8 5 April 1993 28 June 1993 13

References

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  1. ^ "Busman's Holiday". IMDb. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Busman's holiday n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Busman's Holiday – Great Smoky Mountains National Park". The Trustees of Indiana University. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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