Fry’s off on his travels again

Passport renewal starts from £72.50, but you can save that money by letting TV sort out your travel plans.

Stay-at-home travellers have already sat in comfort with three recent ITV1 series as Griff Rhys-Jones made sure his ticket was punched as he went by rail from the top to the tip of Africa in Slow Train Through Africa, Joanna Lumley chilling out with a vodka or two on her Trans-Siberian Adventure while Julia Bradbury stayed closer to home on her Wonders of Britain Tour.

Now, after a short break, TV’s back on the road again with BBC2 sending a team to travel far and wide to find out what makes Indian railways work, or not, in World’s Busiest Railway (BBC2) - part of the Beeb’s India Season line-up - while Stephen Fry gets his passport stamped as he starts his four-week trip across Central America (ITV1, Thursday).

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Going across the Atlantic is old hat for Stephen - seven years ago he toured through all 50 American states in a London black cab - so it should be quicker as he starts his latest journey across the border in Mexico before moving on next week to Belize and Guatemala.

If you’re not one for such long-distance trips, you could stay local - and avoid any Bank Holiday traffic jams - by heading off in a different direction in Time Crashers (Sunday).

You won’t find any of these destinations at your local travel agent as this Channel 4 series takes ten modern-day ‘celebs’ and sends them back in time to six very different eras of British history with no idea of where, or when, they are going.

The assorted bunch, who were whisked back to the Elizabethan era in the first of this six-parter, include presenter Fern Britton, Hollywood actress Kirstie Alley, actor Keith Allen, footballer Jermaine Jenas and comedian Chris Ramsey.

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They, and the others, soon found that they were out of their 21st century comfort zone, something that will seem ever further away in this Sunday’s time zone as they crash land in 1468, the golden age of chivalry where they all find there’s plenty to joust about.

Press the fast forward button and Channel 4 brings viewers up to date with the final episode of Witnesses (Wednesday) when, hopefully, dogged detective Sandra Winckler (Marie Dompnier) will unravel the dark secrets in this edge-of-the seat thriller.

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