Holiday Showdown

Scotland and Lanzarote (5x4)

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Manoeuvring two families with opposing ideas about life into close quarters and letting the cameras roll may not be the subtlest way to make reality television but, as previous series of Holiday Showdown have shown, it does often make for some compulsively entertaining stuff. And so it is tonight, as the Brown family from Birmingham and the Maybes from Essex take each other on a “dream holiday” for a week. The Browns’ destination of choice is rural Scotland, for a survival holiday in which they construct their own shelters and skin their own food. None of the Maybes are happy about this, least of all their daughter Jade, a trainee beautician who sniffles that “it’s not a holiday; it’s a forest.” Still, with admirable stoicism, they put up with the indignities of outdoor latrines and dour weather and are soon whisked off to their holiday of choice in sunny Lanzarote. Were this a TV drama and not a reality show, the boozy arguments would have begun here; as it is, both families display enough charm and open-mindedness to keep the show from playing to stereotype. The Browns, with one notable exception, actually enjoy eating deep-fried ribs and larking about in the pool; and the Maybes enjoy showing the Browns how to relax, package holiday-style.