Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig and Eddie Izzard

It’s that time of year again, when many of us are thinking about jetting off for a break somewhere or exploring the amazing places on our doorstep.

But where to go? That’s the tricky question. Maybe we could find inspiration in the third series of Sandi Toksvig’s entertaining celebrity travelogue.

The first series aired in 2021, just as the government downgraded lockdown measures, a positive move but one that still meant few of us were likely to be going anywhere in the near future. Perhaps that’s why the programme proved so popular – we could enjoy the sights and sounds without leaving home, living vicariously through Toksvig and co’s jaunts.

The second series, which popped up last year, was also a hit, so it’s no surprise to see the host back for a third run, in which she will once again be joined by a different female every week for a trip to somewhere slightly off the beaten track, during which they’ll explore the area while bonding via their experiences and a good, old-fashioned chat.

“The main thing for me, apart from the glorious landscapes and the astonishing architecture, is that in each one, it’s two women, I’m going to say – of a certain age – having a good time and just enjoying ourselves,” says Toksvig of the show.

“There’s something infectious about watching people genuinely having a good time. Even though the scene you see on television might only be a couple of minutes long, you know the truth of it is that the laughter carried on for a long time before and a long time after.”

She adds: “The glorious thing with it is that we’re with the same film crew who are also like family, so honestly we just all kind of muck about together. The real danger of that of course is that I sometimes forget we’re filming and might say mildly inappropriate things that are probably not suitable for broadcast!

“But maybe that’s one of the reasons why I think the show works as it also gives an insight into these wonderful women having the sorts of conversations a lot of television wouldn’t normally make time for.

“These are not the type of shows in which someone has got a book to plug or show to sell; we want to genuinely get to know somebody in a relaxed environment where you sort of slightly forget that we’re filming. I think you will learn something about each one of them that might both surprise and delight.”

Well, let’s hope so. Certainly the opening episode should be entertaining, not least because Toksvig’s guest is Eddie Izzard.

The pair are off to Ireland where they sample the delights of an award-winning timber-clad holiday home in Co Clare, a treehouse hand-built by a woman in Cork and, finally, a cottage close to a Kerry lake, where Eddie embarks on her first-ever fishing trip.

And who knows, after tuning in, you may feel like booking yourself a well-earned break at one of them, or at least logging on to find out what else the world has in store.