When Holidays Go Horribly Wrong

Featuring first-hand interviews with unlucky punters who booked what they thought would be a hassle-free holiday, only for it to turn into a nightmare.

Glynis Barber narrates first-hand accounts of what happens when dream vacations turn into nightmares. A cruise to the Bahamas got caught in a cyclone, a diving trip in Indonesia resulted in life-changing spinal injuries, and a honeymooning couple survive the infamous Las Vegas shootings of October 2017.

We hear from unlucky punters who booked what they thought would be the trip of a lifetime, only to find themselves in the middle of a holiday nightmare.

A selection of disastrous excursions, featuring a visit to the zoo that ended in horror when a young family encountered an escaped chimpanzee. Plus, a day at a safari park turns to a walk on the wild side as two duelling camels cause £6,000 of damage to a car, rendering it a write-off, while a tourist soon regretted going on a hang-gliding day trip in the Swiss Alps when his pilot failed to attach the safety cord.

Glynis Barber narrates a documentary featuring first-hand interviews with people whose hotel holidays ended in disaster, including a newlywed couple's horror when their honeymoon accommodation turned out to be a half-built Mexican building site. A trip to Zante took a surreal turn when one guest found herself the only person staying in the hotel, while a high-end break to Cuba hit the skids when Hurricane Irma struck.

Accounts of nightmare vacations from those whose dream break went horribly wrong, including a woman horrified to see her young children paddling in what she believed to be sewage. Plus, the beachgoer who found herself upside down and clinging on for dear life during a parasailing excursion we Horribly Wrong, and a day trip to Brighton that ended up a sunseeker being chased by a hungry flock of seagulls. Jenny Powell narrates, with contributors including broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan, travel journalist Simon Calder and DJ Sonny Jay.

Package Holidays have always been the easy way to travel, with flights and accommodation all taken care of. Ever popular, all you need to do is just fly and flop! So, when these holidays go right, you'll be living la vida loca. But when they go Horribly Wrong, you'll wish you'd never booked.Highlights of the show include pain in Spain as a family are disgusted when they discover their Benidorm package holiday hotel room looks less like the little piece of heaven they'd envisaged and more like something from a horror film, complete with flickering light, crumbling fixtures and filth everywhere. There's the shock of all shocks when on a package tour to Thailand a man is horrified to discover a huge Godzilla-like creature emerging from the toilet at the most inopportune moment: it's a venomous monitor lizard. And a sunseeker's trip to Mallorca ends in disaster when she gets sunburnt so badly she's in excruciating pain for the rest of the holiday - not to mention being faced with a doctor's bill for thousands.Also, there's a fracas in Paphos as a relaxing trip to Cyprus is anything but, when a holidaymaker has to endure days of ear-shattering drilling. A week in Ibiza is a washout as flash floods hit leaving a room looking more like the hotel swimming pool. And in Turkey, a holidaymaker gets a basting when a parasailing adventure comes crashing down to earth leaving her worried she'll ever return home alive.Contributors include journalist & broadcaster Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije, presenters Sara Damergi & Ricky Boleto and veteran travel journalist Simon Calder. 

As more of us seek out affordable holiday options, the popularity of Caravan Holidays is soaring with the industry worth a staggering two billion pounds a year. You get all the comforts of home, along with the freedom to explore whenever and wherever. But sometimes there can be a hitch in your plans as exemplified in this 90-minute special narrated by Helen Lederer.Highlights include the driver who can't believe her eyes when her holiday flies by for all the wrong reasons: her caravan has become detached from her car and is hurtling past her at breakneck speed on the motorway, with terrifying consequences.A holiday proves too much to bear as a grizzly makes itself at home in a Canadian caravan park, pilfering the food and giving holidaymakers the fright of their lives. And there's a dark cloud hanging over a holiday in Cornwall as bad weather sets in leaving a family no choice but to wade through a knee-deep torrent of rain to get to their static. Before long, they call time on the break, which is a washout.Other stories, re-lived by holidaymakers who really should have been given a wider berth, include a mouse invasion in a caravan that resembles something from a disaster movie, a Vegas driver who takes the gamble of his life getting into an underground carpark and the proud owners of a new caravan, whose dream soon ends in a nightmare as the shiny new vehicle is dramatically rear-ended on the way home from the showroom. The damage is so bad, the holiday home is deemed by insurers to be a write-off.Contributors include racing driver Paul O'Neill, adventurer and presenter Rob Bell and journalist and broadcaster Kylie Pentelow.

Accounts of terrifying and disastrous honeymoons, including a newlywed being bitten by a shark in the Bahamas, an adventure-loving couple getting stranded in the wilds of Asia, and a safari trip that is stopped by a silverback gorilla when it charges into a woman and knocks her to the ground.

Accounts of disastrous flights, including one to Hawaii that took a sinister turn when a passenger saw an engine falling apart before his eyes. A holidaymaker relives the horror of his plane attempting to land at Heathrow, not once, but twice, in 100mph winds. while a trip to Egypt entails an epic 36-hour delay. With contributions from Jeremy Spake, flight safety expert Dai Whittingham and travel presenter Lucy Hedges.

First-hand accounts of drivers who came to a grinding halt, from road users who failed to put their brain into gear to extraordinary obstructions and life-or-death situations. A lorry driver was unable believe his eyes when the vehicle in front of him, transporting bales of hay, caught fire, causing a tailback of mega-proportions, while a chauffeur sees his life flash before his eyes when a careless driver attempted a U-turn on a dual carriageway, smashing into him and forcing the entire road to close.

John Sergeant narrates a selection of first-hand accounts of nightmare trips on the railway, including passengers stuck on a train that lost power on the hottest day of the year, leaving them without air conditioning in the 38C heat. Plus, the driver whose quick reactions helped save the lives of his passengers when his high-speed train hit a lorry on a level crossing, and the pandemonium underground when a London Tube carriage filled with smoke.

Over six million of us enjoy visiting theme parks every year. They promise a fun day out for all the family. With thrills and spills, you can make memories to last a lifetime. But sometimes for all the wrong reasons, as when the smiles turn to tears, it can be all downhill!In this programme, ‘Highlights' include the magical Disney parade which turned into a nightmare when the famous fire-breathing dragon became an inferno in front of shocked onlookers. A catapult ride fails to get off the ground. Just as two thrill-seekers, a cancer-survivor, and a teenager, are waiting in anticipation of the heart-stopping ride, the cord, which should have flung them into high the air, snaps spectacularly before their very eyes. And we hear of one man's close call on the day tragedy struck the Smiler Ride. Young radio presenter Danny Simm was next-in-line for world's first 14-loop roller coaster and couldn't believe his eyes when two carriages crashed, leaving some riders with life-changing injuries.Other incidents include out-of-control rides, some crazy foreign roller coasters where safety just doesn't seem to be a thing, and the theme park that looked more like a ghost town… as there were no visitors to be seen. Plus, it's sink or swim - or both – riding the rapids when some boats capsize. While flying through the air in a slingshot, a man loses a tooth.Contributors in this two-hour special, narrated by Dermot Murnaghan, include former theme park workers, the president of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain Andy Hine MBE and thrill engineer and TV presenter Professor Brendan Walker.

When parties swing, they offer a chance to eat, drink and be merry. You can celebrate good times with your nearest and dearest, and make memories. But when they go horribly wrong, the party is well and truly over... Party game gaffes, dancing disasters, buffet brawls - all those nightmare moments are jam-packed in to this hilarious and occasionally jaw-dropping celebration of gatherings going awry.