Coach Trip

Broadcast, narrators and repeats

Coach Trip originally aired weekdays at 4:30pm before Deal or No Deal debuted on Channel 4 (followed by a repeat the following morning), with the second series aired at 2:55pm instead (and then repeated between July and August 2007). Since the revived series, Coach Trip has moved to the 5:00pm slot (in series 3, 4, 7, 9, Celebrity Coach Trip 2 & 3 and Christmas Coach Trip) and later to the 5:30pm slot (in series 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and Celebrity Coach Trip 1) on Channel 4. The 14th series, Coach Trip: Road to Ibiza, aired weekdays at 7.30pm on E4.

In series 3, an omnibus edition was also shown on weekends but was cancelled part of the way through the series. It returned for series 9 on More4.

Andy Love was the narrator in the first two series, with David Quantick taking the role in both series 3 and 4. From series 5 to 8, Dave Vitty was the show's narrator; he was also the narrator for all the Celebrity and Christmas series' of Coach Trip to date. Jackie Clune was the narrator from series 9 to 13, with Clara Amfo taking over for the 14th series.

4seven aired repeats of series 8 onwards, More4 repeated all series, and defunct Sky Travel, Pick (then known as Sky Three/Sky3/Pick TV) and defunct Sky Real Lives have all only repeated series 1 & 2 of Coach Trip along with defunct Channel 4 scheduling slot, T4 on weekend mornings. Celebrity Coach Trip began showing repeats on Travel Channel in May 2014.

Future

A Channel 4 spokesperson said the broadcaster previously had no plans to commission another series, as series 2 of Christmas Coach Trip would have been the last installment. Brendan later said in June 2013, during a telephone interview to Paul about his 2 new shows, that "Coach Trip has been rested at the moment – it's not the end of the programme, but we decided that we’d experiment with two new formats".

On 4 September 2013, Channel 4 announced there would be another series of Coach Trip consisting of 30 episodes, each 30 minutes long. Sheerin and Donald both returned to the show. Applications for the new series opened on the same day. On 9 April 2014, it was confirmed by Digital Spy that the show would return for a further four series (80 episodes in total).

On 6 April 2016, it was announced that Coach Trip will return for a fourteenth series in 2016 on E4. This series is called Coach Trip: Road to Ibiza and it began airing on 25 July 2016.

On 23 August 2016, Channel 4 confirmed that Coach Trip would return for series 15 & 16 in 2017.

Voting system

Unlike most coach trips the passengers vote and privately discuss (before the vote) for who they don't like travelling with at the end of each day. Whoever gets the most votes is awarded a yellow card, if they are voted for again they receive a red card and are sent home to be replaced by a new pair. Yellow cards have been occasionally awarded to couples due to timekeeping issues; Red cards have also been presented to couples on occasion, although when this is done it is normally the result of certain travellers' bad behavior, vote refusals or canvassing for votes.

The vote usually takes place at the days location and occasionally on board the coach, while travelling to the next destination or to the hotel, in front of each other. If a red card is awarded to a couple, the coach is stopped and the contestants collect their suitcases, miss the overnight vehicle ferry, miss the overnight vehicle train and also leave the trip. During the vote, Brendan acts as co-ordinator of the vote and awards the couple the yellow/red card. If a tie vote occurs, Brendan takes the nominated couples to one side while the remaining couples decide who should be awarded the penalty card, treat or prize. New couples who arrive after the originals are immune from the first vote that they are present at, although they are allowed to vote against another couple (unless they are also a new couple).

If Brendan thinks that the couple canvass for votes, overtake the previous vote, instigate a fight at the vote or shows inappropriate sexual behaviour they will automatically receive a red card and the vote will either begin or continue without them. If a couple(s) refuse to vote then they are given an automatic red carded and are removed from the coach and the vote concludes worse soon than always.

Voting amendments

On Day 19 of Series 2, the voting rules were amended once after revealing the quiz winners and losers so contestants cannot vote for the winning couple and the losing couple loses the chance to cast votes against others. Also on Day 24 of Series 3, Day 25 of Series 6 and Day 1 of Series 7, the voting rules were amended once after the announcement about the red terror which also returned from Days 5, 6 and 7 until Day 9 of the Celebrity Coach Trip series, Day 12 of Christmas Coach Trip series and Days 27, 28 and 29 of Coach Trip: Road to Ibiza series whoever receives the most votes will automatically be given a red card. This is regardless of whether the couple already has a yellow card or not.

Also, from Day 2 of Series 5, the voting rules were again amended so contestants cannot vote for the couple who got a yellow card the previous day and that system would soon be reintroduced for upcoming/future series.

Day 22 of Series 14 entitled "Road to Ibiza" saw the voting rules again being amended after the announcement about the double yellow terror whichever two couples receives the most votes will both receive a yellow card which is somewhat similar to when two couples received a yellow card from tied votes from not only earlier series of Coach Trip but also from day 12 of the same series Day 5 of Series 15 entitled "Road to Marbs" had the same voting rules as Day 22 of "Road to Ibiza" as 2 couples each received 2 yellow cards each from tied votes.

Voting alterations & Vote cancelations

Votes have occasionally been altered to accommodate for a lack of couples like 8 or 10 passengers on board the coach or for other reasons.

On Day 4 of Series 2, the vote was changed after first John & Irene's early departure, due to their ill health; then Paul & Heidi receiving a red card later at the previous day's vote and on Day 14 of Series 2 the vote was changed again after first Clare and Kat received a red card at the previous day's vote then Alan & Lorenzo refused to get out of bed followed by stationary traffic with an accident in front. On Day 12 of Series 4, the vote was also changed after a fight had broken out on board the coach between Bruce & Jon and Tam & Jayson before new couple Mark & Mary arrived, this normally results in the couples on board voting for who they want to receive a treat rather than the penalty cards.

Introduced by July 2010, effective from Series 5, five couples became the new minimum required for a vote to take place. The voting system of awarding a treat was reintroduced during Series 8 and during the Christmas series.

On Day 17 of Series 1, Day 19 of Series 3 and Day 12 of Series 13, Brendan decided to have a vote cancelation due to shortages of couples. On Day 21 of Series 2, the vote was suspended due to the contestants learning of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption and the 2011 England riots were not revealed to the contestants before Series 5 and 8 began filming and The Arab Spring protests didn't even begin and were also not revealed to the contestants before the filming of Series 6 and Celebrity Series 1 had finished.

On Day 9 of Series 14 entitled "Road To Ibiza" The Vote was therefore cancelled due to all the new couples being immune.

The final vote

The final vote is usually altered on Day 10 of 10 (on Celebrity series), Day 15 of 15 (on Christmas series), Day 20 of 20, Day 29 of 30, Day 30 of 30 (on Road to ? series) and Day 49 of 50; this normally results in the couples on board voting for who they want to receive a prize rather than the penalty cards.

In the first two series, the winners received an extended stay in the final destination of the trip as their prize, while in the third and sixth series, the winners received a holiday voucher. The winners of the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth series received another coach holiday as their prize. Celebrity series winners receive £1,000 for their charities, The Road to Ibiza series winners receive the luxury holiday in Ibiza and the £1,000 prize and Christmas winners also receive another coach holiday voucher as their prize.

Coaches, registration plates and drivers

The coaches used were originally supplied by Motts Travel, a coach hire company based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, up to Series 13. From Series 14 entitled "The Road to Ibiza", the coach has been supplied by Westway Coaches, based in Raynes Park, London. The coaches are installed with cameras and microphones to record the passengers while on board. The coaches used in the show are decorated with a Union Flag design on the outside, Series 14 entitled "The Road to Ibiza" introduced a new beach design with #COACHTRIP on the coach roof.

The first coach 'T100 MTT' was a Volvo B10M with Jonckheere Mistral 50 bodywork. It was used during Series 1 and Series 2.

The coach 'MT04 MTT' arrived in Central London to be used for Series 3 only. It is a Volvo B12B with Plaxton Panther bodywork.

The coach 'MT09 MTT', also a Volvo B12B/Plaxton Panther, was used between Series 4 and 13.

The coach '29 WT' a personalised Van Hool TX series tri-axle, is used from Series 14 entitled "The Road to Ibiza" also use for other Road to ? series.

There have been four different drivers who drove each coach on each different series. In the 1st series, the driver was Chris Groombridge who only drove T100 MTT. Series 2 saw his successor, Paul Donald take over as coach driver until the 10th series. On Day 13 in Series 8, a temporary driver (Jamie) took over for the day and drove the coach to the ferry port. Series 11 saw Malcom Kimber take over as coach driver, Series 14 entitled "The Road to Ibiza" introduced George & Charles as new drivers.

List of arrival/final day locations

Throughout the different series of Coach Trip, Brendan has appeared in a variety of different locations both in the United Kingdom and European airports or hotels in order for him to pick up the couples boarding the coach. For the final day of each series, sees the couples on board the coach either arriving back in the United Kingdom or departing via airports within Europe, Northern Africa or Western Asia.

Series 1 (2005)

Coach Trip 1 was the first series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started in April 2004 and lasted until June 2004, the series began airing on 7 March 2005 and concluded on 19 April 2005. The trip went through several European countries. Chris Groombridge was the driver for the only time, Brendan Sheerin was the tour guide, Andy Love was narrator and the registration was T100 MTT.

Series 2 (2006)

Coach Trip 2 was the second series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started in May 2005 and lasted until July 2005, the series began airing on 22 May 2006 and concluded on 30 June 2006. The show's format had the same idents as series 1. This year the trip was centred on Mediterranean countries. Brendan returned as the tour guide, the narrator was once again Andy Love and the registration number plate once again was T100 MTT. Paul Donald was the driver for the first time.

Series 3 (2009)

Coach Trip 3 was the third series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started in September 2008 and lasted until October 2008, the series began airing on 25 May 2009 and concluded on 3 July 2009. The show's format after a break of 3 years remained unchanged from the previous series but the titles were new along with the timeslot: seven couples travelling around Europe on a coach like series 1 for 30 days attempting vote off the least popular couples. With visits to Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg for the first time. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin and coach driver Paul Donald both returned for this series, which aired on Channel 4 with a similar end to series 2. David Quantick was the narrator and MT04 MTT was the registration number plate for the first and only time.

Series 4 (February to April 2010)

Coach Trip 4 was the fourth series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started on 7 September 2009 and lasted until 27 October 2009, the series began airing on 15 February 2010 and concluded on 23 April 2010. The length of this series was longer than the previous instalments, increased from 30 days to 50 days for a tour centred on European, Mediterranean, North African and West Asian countries on a coach like series 1, 2 and 3 attempting to vote off the least popular couples. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin, coach driver Paul Donald and narrator David Quantick all returned for this series, which aired on Channel 4. MT09 MTT was the coach registration number plate.

Series 5 (August to October 2010)

Coach Trip 5 was the fifth series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started in May 2010 and lasted until June 2010, the series began airing on 30 August 2010 and concluded on 8 October 2010. The show's format changed slightly from previous series and with weekends included, from Day 2 of that the couple who received a yellow card the previous day would be immune from the following vote the next day. The series involves seven couples traveling on a one-month tour centering on Northern European countries for the first time, with visits to Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin, coach driver Paul Donald and the MT09 MTT registration all returned for this series, which airs on Channel 4. Dave Vitty was the narrator for the first time and the airing time moved from 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

Series 6 (February to March 2011)

Coach Trip 6 was the sixth series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started in July 2010 and lasted until August 2010, the series began airing on 14 February 2011 and concluded on 25 March 2011. The voting system rules reverted to those of earlier series. The length of this series was the same as the previous non-celebrity series but with weekends excluded. The tour visited Mediterranean countries like series 2 but with visits to Switzerland added for a month. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin, coach driver Paul Donald, narrator Dave Vitty and the coach with registration number MT09 MTT all returned for this series, which was aired on Channel 4 with a similar start to series 2 and a similar end to series 4.

Series 7 (August to October 2011)

Coach Trip 7 was the seventh series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming started in May 2011 and lasted until June 2011, the series began airing on 29 August 2011 and concluded on 7 October 2011. The length of this series was the same as the previous non-celebrity series but still with weekends excluded. The European tour began in the UK, before moving to France, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic plus for the first time ever Poland and Slovakia. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin, coach driver Paul Donald, narrator Dave Vitty and the coach with registration number MT09 MTT all returned for this series, which was aired on Channel 4 with the airing time reverted to 5:00 pm, with a similar start to series 1 and a similar end to series 3.

Series 8 (January to March 2012)

Coach Trip 8 was the eighth and final series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom, before the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Filming started on 29 August 2011 and lasted until 1 October 2011, the series began airing on 30 January 2012, after the third celebrity series concluded, concluding on 9 March 2012. The length of this series was the same as the previous non-celebrity series but with only 1 day of a weekend included at the end of the tour. The Mediterranean tour centring towards Western Asia began in the UK, before moving to Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, and for the first time Macedonia. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin, coach driver Paul Donald, narrator Dave Vitty and the coach with registration number MT09 MTT all returned for the series with a similar start to series 3 and a similar end to series 4, which was aired weekdays on Channel 4 and the airing time again moved to 5:30 pm.

Series 9 (January to March 2014)

Coach Trip 9 was the ninth series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom, following the broadcaster's decision to renew the show. Filming started in September 2013 and lasted until October 2013, the series began airing on 27 January 2014 and concluded on 8 March 2014. The ninth series saw Brendan Sheerin return as tour guide, as in all previous editions and Paul Donald continue as coach driver and MT09 MTT was the registration of the coach once again. The tour had a similar start to series 1 & 3 and includes visits to Sardinia for the first time. The series aired on weekdays at 5:30 pm from episodes 1 to 15, however was moved to 5:00 pm from episodes 16 to 29 due to Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts. Due to the 2014 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony on Channel 4, episode 30 was instead aired on More4 at 12:10pm on 8 March 2014.

Series 10 (October to November 2014)

Coach Trip 10 was the tenth series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming took place between July and August 2014. The series began airing on 27 October 2014 for 20 episodes, concluding on 21 November 2014.

Series 11 (November to December 2014)

Coach Trip 11 was the eleventh series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming took place between September and October 2014, The series began airing on 24 November 2014 for 20 episodes, 3 days after the tenth series concluded, concluding on 19 December 2014.

Series 12 (March 2015)

Coach Trip 12 was the twelfth series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom. Filming took place in November 2014, The series began airing on 2 March 2015 for 20 episodes, concluding on 27 March 2015.

Series 13 (March to April 2015)

Coach Trip 13 was the thirteenth and final series of Coach Trip in the United Kingdom, since Fifteen to One returned and then moved to the 3 O'clock slot. Filming took place between November and December 2014, The series began airing on 30 March 2015 for 20 episodes, 3 days after the twelfth series concluded, concluding on 24 April 2015. These were the last 20 episodes of the original 80 that were commissioned in April 2014.

Series 14: "Road to Ibiza" (2016)

Coach Trip returned for its fourteenth series, consisting of 30 episodes, on 25 July 2016 moving from Channel 4 to E4, Filming took place between May and July 2015 and the series is known as Coach Trip: Road to Ibiza. On the last day of the coach trip the five remaining couples voted for the couple that they want to win the luxury holiday in Ibiza and the £1,000 prize.

The Voting system on this series was:

Days 1 to 26 was a yellow card Days 27 to 29 an automatic red card due to all couples canvassing for future votes before the vote on day 24

Similar system to Celebrity Coach Trip.

Series 15: "Road to Marbs" (January to February 2017)

Coach Trip series 15 was confirmed by Channel 4 on 23 August 2016. Filming of series 15 took place between October and November 2016. It will begin airing on 16 January 2017, again consisting of 30 episodes, this time round it has the title Coach Trip: Road to Marbs. On the last day of the coach trip the five remaining couples voted for the couple that they want to win the luxury holiday in Marbella and the £1,000 prize.

On Day 21, partners, Kev & Brad, got engaged during the flying activity. This is the first time a couple has engaged on Coach Trip. The pair went on to win the series.

Series 16: "Road to ?" (2017)

Coach Trip series 16 was confirmed by E4 on 14 December 2016. Filming will take place during 6 May 2017 and 26 June 2017. It will once again consist of 30 episodes and follow the "Road to ?" format.

Series 1 (2010)

Celebrity Coach Trip 1 is the first series of Celebrity Coach Trip which was filmed from 6 to 20 September 2010 and began airing on 8 November 2010. The series featured a variety of celebrity couples on a 10-day tour, the couples get to vote off the other couples that they do not get along with. On the last day of the coach trip the remaining couples vote for the couple that they want to win the £1,000 prize for charity. The first day of the coach trip started in Prague and the last day of the trip ended in Venice. Tour guide Brendan Sheerin, narrator Dave Vitty, coach driver Paul Donald and the MT09 MTT registration all returned for this series, which aired on Channel 4.

The Voting system on this series was:

Days 1 to 4 was a yellow card Days 5 to 9 an automatic red card

Series 2 (2011)

Celebrity Coach Trip 2 was the second celebrity series of Coach Trip which aired from 10–21 October 2011. The series featured a variety of celebrity couples on a 10-day tour, the couples get to vote off the other couples that they do not get along with. Filming took place from 9 to 23 April 2011. On the last day of the coach trip the remaining couples vote for the couple that they want to win the £1,000 prize for charity. This coach trip had a journey around the Mediterranean, with the starting location and pick up point in South Paris, France and the first destination was Monaco.

The Voting system on this series was:

Days 1 to 5 was a yellow card Days 6 to 9 an automatic red card

Series 3 (2012)

Celebrity Coach Trip 3 was the third and final celebrity series of Coach Trip which aired from 16 to 27 January 2012 before series 8 started airing. Filming took place from 4 to 18 July 2011. On the last day of the coach trip the remaining couples vote for the couple that they want to win the £1,000 prize for charity. This coach trip had another journey around the Mediterranean, with the starting location and pick up point in Trieste, Italy and the first destination was Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The Voting system on this series was:

Days 1 to 6 was a yellow card Days 7 to 9 an automatic red card

Christmas series

Christmas Coach Trip was a Christmas-themed version of Coach Trip. It began airing on the same day that filming finished. The trip started from Trondheim Airport, Værnes, followed by Trondheim, Norway and the final destination was Inari, Finland. The tourists arrived back in Great Britain via Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen and the filming took place from 28 November to 12 December 2011.

List of activities

On each series of Coach Trip there are different activities each day for the tourists and celebrities to do and/or have already done by order of appearance. Below is a (near complete) list of activities that have featured on Coach Trip to date.

North Africa

Morocco

Tunisia

Western Asia

Turkey

Related shows

On 24 June 2013, a replacement show called Brendan's Magical Mystery Tour began on Channel 4. The series was filmed from September 2012 (visiting Barcelona, Jamaica, Cancún in Mexico and Istanbul) and aired in the 5:00pm slot, narrated by Tupele Dorgu.

On 13 September 2012, Sheerin announced in an interview that he had signed a deal to host a new dating show for Channel 4, titled 'Brendan's Love Boat'. The other replacement show (produced by Optomen) was aired in December 2013, after being commissioned for a 20-episode series. The series, renamed Brendan's Love Cruise, began on 2 December on More4 in the 9:20am slot, narrated by Maria McErlane.