coach trip road to marbs

Coach Trip: Road to Marbs

Bringing a little bit of much-needed holiday sunshine to these dark and cold January days is tour guide extraordinaire Brendan Sheerin and his busload of 14 new travellers, who are setting off on a trip around Spain

Bringing a little bit of much-needed holiday sunshine to these dark and cold January days is tour guide extraordinaire Brendan Sheerin and his busload of 14 new travellers, who are setting off on a trip around Spain.

The jolly begins in Mallorca where Brendan decides to break the ice with a bit of pole dancing – but of course!

Then it’s off to a water park to cool down a little before the dreaded vote reveals who everyone least wants to travel with.

The couple that ends up with the most votes is given a yellow card; receive two of those and you’re sent packing.

And this lot are certainly a feisty bunch – the sun cream has hardly had a chance to sink in before the knives come out!

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Coach Trip: Road to Marbs

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Brendan Sheerin (Self - Tour Guide) Clara Amfo (Self - Narrator) Adrianna Edwards (Self (2017)) Klara McDonnell (Self)

A group of holiday makers join Brendan Sheerin on his coach travelling on the road to Marbella. The cast take on a activities throughout the day while travelling. Every night a couple is voted off and new couples are introduced along the way. Who will make it to Marbella?

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Coach Trip: Road to Marbs review – contestants as charmless as the reboot itself

The original bumbling appeal of this show has been abandoned in favour of a twentysomethings in boxers and bikinis – much like any other reality TV series

I t was not possible to see Panorama’s Trump: The Kremlin Candidate? (BBC1) in advance, but adequately placed to offer insight into the decline of the western world instead was Coach Trip: Road to Marbs (E4), in which 14 contestants go on holiday together on a bus, then each day have to decide who is the least popular couple and vote those people off, right in front of their sad, disappointed faces.

I had not realised that Coach Trip was still on. When it started back in 2005, it was a late-afternoon treat that featured people who might actually choose to go on a coach trip abroad. It quickly became a student viewing staple, largely because of its host and compere, Brendan Sheerin, who embodied end-of-the-pier camp and gentle bawdiness, but also because it pioneered a kind of television that revelled in forcing uptight Brits to be rude to each other’s faces, rather than behind each other’s backs. It’s a formula that has since been put to excellent use on Come Dine With Me and Four in a Bed . It was mean, but not too mean. It was designed to create awkwardness, but it never ascended to Big Brother levels of cruel.

But here it is, 12 years later, on the second series of its “reboot” (the first, in 2016, took the Road to Ibiza ), and now there’s a hashtag emblazoned on the roof of the coach. Gone are the retired couples in fleeces and walking boots, replaced with a homogenous army of magazine-attractive, sculpted young people and a series of activities that appear to mostly involve getting them to wear as little clothing as possible.

This Coach Trip takes place around sunny Spain, with plenty of opportunities for those lingering bikinis-and-boxers shots. The contestants arrive in pairs; there’s one couple, the rest are friends, then two individuals turn up. They’re all in their 20s. Some are seasoned travellers, and some are new to the joys of sitting on a bus for 15 hours when there’s only one loo, the air conditioning has broken and someone has packed an egg mayo and tuna sandwich. They all love a laugh. Kieran and Sam talk as if David Brent alone taught them how to be men. Calvin and Conrad describe themselves collectively as “the king of banter”. Their banter is so great that it has merged them into one regal entity., their coat of arms surely bearing the legend, “We’re only having a laugh.” Dhillan and Adam are best friends who take offence easily, which bodes well for the end-of-episode vote. Most of the others merge into a series of nice faces.

Apart from, that is, the two lone travellers, who are quickly sandwiched together in an attempt at adding a little Take Me Out /First Dates romance. There’s Olivia, who appeared on series five of Made In Chelsea (she has moved on “to bigger and better things”, she says), and another Adam, an Aussie and self-declared “ladies man” who immediately decides he’s supposed to fancy Olivia and treats her as a challenge to be tackled. “What would annoy you about her?” he is asked. “If she said no,” he blurts, less lucky lothario, more potential recipient of a restraining order. Adam is as charmless as this reboot, but he does provide one of the more memorable lines of the episode, when Olivia pulls him up on calling her “chick”. “Oh right, yeah,” he apologises, smoothly explaining that she didn’t understand him. “We call birds ‘chicks’.”

Where old Coach Trip contestants might have visited a museum or learned about the local geography, this lot “get to know each other” – the currency by which they make enough friends to avoid being booted off – by pole-dancing and going on a waterslide. Then comes the vote, which remains a masterclass in British passive-aggressive avoidance. “Nothing personal,” one couple will say. “We just got to know the others better.” “It’s fine. We’ve all got to do it,” their victims will reply, through tight white teeth. As the excuses get increasingly preposterous – one vote is based on where they are seated on the bus – the resentment is more and more palpable. In the interests of not rocking the bus for the following day’s exile, however, everyone is forced to push it down, and grimace gamely.

Brendan is taking it all in his stride, but there’s something of the cut-and-shut about this incarnation of Coach Trip, something not right in the sandwiching together of old-style TV and its more youth-focused offspring. It’s like The Only Way is Antiques Roadshow, or Songs of Praise: Grime Edition. These people wouldn’t go anywhere near a coach holiday. They just want to be on TV. And that’s fine, but it strips the premise of its bumbling appeal, and makes it exactly the same as any other reality show. It’s a shame that not even Brendan’s variety-show cheer can save it.

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Coach Trip: Road to Marbs

Starting in Mallorca, 14 contestants head off on an epic 30-day road trip around the Mediterranean. There's just one catch: the least popular ones get voted off.

Official site: www.channel4.com

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Previous Episode

Episode 1x30; feb 24, 2017.

It's the final day of the hot and sunny high-speed reality contest and the coach finally rolls into Marbella. Brendan blows the budget with a visit to a beauty salon before taking the tourists to a private boat party. At an emotional vote the winners …

Previous Episodes

Brendan Sheerin

Related shows.

Coach Trip: Road to Marbs

Day 1 of a new sun-soaked reality competition. Starting in Mallorca, 14 contestants head off on an epic 30-day trip around the Mediterranean towards Marbella.

Day 2 and the coach is in Mallorca. The group are buzzing after going flyboarding before Brendan brings them down a peck or two at an ostrich farm.

Day 3 on the reality road trip. Tour guide Brendan tries to broaden the group's cultural horizons with a chorizo making class before challenging them to some rock climbing.

Day 4 of the sun-drenched reality show. The group let rip on a quad bike tour before Brendan indulges them in a massage class, with mixed results.

Day 5 and the coach boards a ferry from Mallorca for the Spanish mainland. Brendan arranges a day of fun on the high seas with caricature and dance classes.

Brendan organises an explosive visit to the world famous science museum

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Brendan Sheerin

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Coach Trip: Road to Marbs Season 1 Episodes

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Starting in Mallorca, 14 contestants head off on an epic 30-day road trip around the Mediterranean. There's just one catch: the least popular ones get voted off. Legendary tour guide Brendan is in charge.

Season 1 Episode Guide

30 Episodes 2017 - 2017

Mon, Jan 16, 2017 30 mins

It's Day 1 of a brand new sun-soaked reality competition. Starting in Mallorca, 14 contestants head off on an epic 30-day road trip around the Mediterranean. There's just one catch: the least popular ones get voted off. Legendary tour guide Brendan is in charge.

Tue, Jan 17, 2017 30 mins

Day 2 of the sunny, funny reality series and the coach is in Mallorca. The dust settles on last night's row, but can those involved make up? The group are buzzing after going flyboarding before Brendan brings them down a peg or two at an ostrich farm. Will anyone be voted straight off?

Wed, Jan 18, 2017 30 mins

Day 3 on the reality road trip around the Mediterranean. Brendan tries to broaden the group's cultural horizons with a chorizo-making class before challenging them to some rock-climbing. Romance could be blossoming between two tourists, but there's no love lost at the vote as sparks fly.

Thu, Jan 19, 2017 30 mins

Day 4 of the sun-drenched reality show. The group let rip on a quad bike tour before Brendan indulges them in a massage class, with mixed results. One couple make their feelings about everyone else very clear at the vote.

Fri, Jan 20, 2017 30 mins

Day 5, and the coach boards a ferry from Mallorca for the Spanish mainland. Brendan arranges a day of fun on the high seas with caricature and dance classes, but the tourists are firmly focussed on a twist to the voting rules which puts them all at risk.

Mon, Jan 23, 2017 30 mins

The sunny reality travel show continues as the coach arrives in Valencia. Brendan organises an explosive visit to the world famous science museum as sparks fly between two of the tourists.

Tue, Jan 24, 2017 30 mins

It's day seven and the reality road trip continues along the Spanish coast. The battle for alpha male status heats up in a beach wrestling bout before everyone is tested at a waterfall abseil.

Wed, Jan 25, 2017 30 mins

The coach rolls in to Denia. Brendan is in his element as he introduces the group to Segway polo before his nerves are tested with an accident during a cycle tour.

Thu, Jan 26, 2017 30 mins

Day nine and Brendan and the group go wild on jet skis before chilling out at a luxury spa.

Fri, Jan 27, 2017 30 mins

The coach arrives in Benidorm - or 'Brenidorm' as Brendan calls it. One tourist is a big hit with the local ladies at a candle making class and there are several more big hits on the go-kart track.

Mon, Jan 30, 2017 30 mins

The tourists clown around at the circus in Benidorm, but a potential romance between two tourists causes tension in the group.

Tue, Jan 31, 2017 30 mins

The tourists have fun playing footgolf in the sun in Alicante. An immunity challenge sees everyone fight to stay on the trip, before one couple drop a bombshell at the vote.

Wed, Feb 1, 2017 30 mins

Tensions are high after last night's vote so Brendan cools the group off by taking them paddleboarding, before one tourist comes under fire for his behaviour at the vote.

Thu, Feb 2, 2017 30 mins

Brendan introduces the group to a surprising natural mud spa before teaching them how to lifeguard, with massive dogs! But which couple need saving at the vote?

Fri, Feb 3, 2017 30 mins

The hot and sunny reality contest hits its halfway point and to mark the occasion Brendan introduces a dramatic voting twist, which has everyone in a spin and causes tension among old friends.

Mon, Feb 6, 2017 30 mins

Brendan impresses the group with his special yoga pants at the beach, before his vote twist starts to have an impact, with old friendships brought into question.

Tue, Feb 7, 2017 30 mins

Two new tourists get a lot of attention as everyone tries to protect their place on the trip and cracks start to appear between the remaining original tourists.

Wed, Feb 8, 2017 30 mins

Sheriff Brendan lays down the law in the Wild West. The scheming and paranoia among the tourists grows as they realise the consequences of Brendan's vote twist.

Thu, Feb 9, 2017 30 mins

Brendan takes the group to an amazing natural lagoon but the peaceful atmosphere is broken by a huge row between two tourists, which leads to an explosively dramatic vote.

Fri, Feb 10, 2017 30 mins

The fallout from the previous day's vote casts a shadow over the group but Brendan does his best to cheer them up with some budget-busting activities. An emotional vote leaves one couple questioning their tactics.

Mon, Feb 13, 2017 30 mins

As the remaining tourists adjust to the dramatic events of the last few days, three new couples arrive to shake things up, and one couple make a dramatic announcement.

Tue, Feb 14, 2017 30 mins

Brendan blows the budget on gaining private access to a theme park where one tourist has the ride of her life.

Wed, Feb 15, 2017 30 mins

One tourist gives Brendan a run for his money at a wildlife conservation park.

Thu, Feb 16, 2017 30 mins

One pair of trippers surprise everyone by not getting on the coach. But everyone else has a fun morning at the beach, until one of them is literally thrown to the wolves at a wolf sanctuary.

Fri, Feb 17, 2017 30 mins

The coach has arrived in the city of Seville, where everyone gets the giggles doing some glass-blowing. Later, Brendan lays down the law at a flamenco class.

Mon, Feb 20, 2017 30 mins

The touring party visit the Sherry capital of Jerez. One couple make a shock announcement while Brendan delivers a surprise twist that leads to an emotional vote.

Tue, Feb 21, 2017 30 mins

The coach rolls into Cadiz, where Brendan sets the group an ultra-competitive treasure hunt.

Wed, Feb 22, 2017 30 mins

Brendan has his work cut out controlling the group as they get stuck into some bushcraft and sailing karts.

Thu, Feb 23, 2017 30 mins

It's the penultimate day of the trip and everyone is desperate to make the final. Tensions are high as the vote puts everyone at risk.

Fri, Feb 24, 2017 30 mins

It's the final day of the hot and sunny high-speed reality contest and the coach finally rolls into Marbella. Brendan blows the budget with a visit to a beauty salon before taking the tourists to a private boat party. At an emotional vote the winners are revealed.

Starting in Mallorca, 14 contestants head off on an epic 30-day road trip around the Mediterranean. There's just one catch: the least popular ones get voted off.

Day 1 of a new sun-soaked reality competition. Starting in Mallorca, 14 contestants head off on an epic 30-day trip around the Mediterranean towards Marbella.

Mallorca: Day 1 of a new sun-soaked reality competition, starting in Mallorca

Ostrich Farm: Tour guide Brendan brings the group down a peck or two at an ostrich farm.

Chorizo: Tour guide Brendan broadens the group's cultural horizons with a chorizo making class

Quad Biking: The group let rip on a quad bike tour before they are indulged in a massage class

Mainland Spain: The group visits the Spanish mainland for a day of fun, with caricature and dance classes

Valencia: Brendan organises an explosive visit to the world famous science museum

Beach Wrestling: The battle for alpha male status heats up in a beach wrestling bout

Segway Polo: Brendan is in his element as he introduces the group to Segway polo

Jet Skis and Spa: Brendan and the group go wild on jet skis before chilling out at a luxury spa

Benidorm: The group take a candle-making class and have some big hits at the go-kart track

Benidorm: The tourists clown around at the circus, but a potential romance causes tension

Alicante: The tourists have fun playing footgolf, before one couple drop a bombshell at the vote

Paddleboarding: Tensions are high after the last vote so Brendan cools the group off with paddleboarding

Mud Spa: The tourists visit a surprising natural mud spa and learn to lifeguard, with massive dogs!

Voting Twist: Brendan introduces a dramatic voting twist, which causes tension among old friends

Yoga Pants: Brendan impresses the group with his special yoga pants at the beach

New Tourists: Two new tourists get a lot of attention and cracks appear between the original tourists

Wild West: Sheriff Brendan lays down the law in the Wild West. And there's scheming and paranoia...

Natural Lagoon: The peace of an amazing natural lagoon is broken by a huge row between two tourists

Budget-Busting Activities: After a dramatic vote, can Brendan cheer the group up with some budget-busting activities?

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