Happy Campers - The Story of Britain's Holiday Camps

Billy Butlin was a man before his time. In the 1930s he kicked off Butlin's Holiday Camps to provide "a week's holiday for a week's pay" for cash-strapped Brits. Scroll on to the present day and our economic picture looks remarkably similar. In this programme, Liza Tarbuck pays tribute to British holiday camps, hearing from some of their most famous graduates including Johnny Ball, Russell Grant, Alvin Stardust and Status Quo! Holiday camps are often sneered at, yet one in four of us have been to one and they've served as a vital training ground for some of our best-loved entertainers. Butlins came first and once served a million holidaymakers a year. This is where the Redcoat was born. These iconic camp hosts were later reinterpreted as Bluecoats by Pontins and Yellowcoats in the BBC holiday camp parody 'Hi-De-Hi!', and provided us with some of our best-loved entertainers. Famous former holiday campers include Des O'Connor, Shane Ritchie, Bobby Davro, Dave Allen, Johnny Ball and Isla St. Clair, and right now, the stars of the future are trying to eke out a reputation on those same stages. This is the 'school of hard knocks' for performers - if you can win over a holiday camp crowd, it's widely acknowledged you can win over anyone. In 'Happy Campers', Liza Tarbuck finally gives this classic British holiday a fair appraisal. The programme takes in a trip to sunny Bognor, a wander through the archives and relates some unforgettable holiday camp experiences from those who know them best!