Tom Daley dives into new TV travel show
Bronze medal-winning diver Tom Daley is to appear in a TV travel show which will follow him as he embarks on a whistle-stop backpacking trip with his best friend.
With the grandiose working title Tom Daley Takes On The World, the ITV2 programme will see Tom visit several countries including Thailand, Japan, Australia, Morocco and New Zealand in just six weeks.
The TV station’s PR machine describes the trip as "a life-changing experience" and it promises that we will see Daley as he’s never been seen before – fully clothed. No seriously, it says he will be roughing it in hostels (brace yourselves for shots of bad bed-hair), sleeping on night trains and making new friends. Ahh.
It says Britain’s favourite (or should that be ‘only’) male diver will take in "everything typical of a student backpacking trip".
Daley, however, appears to have been given a different script. The Olympian says he has a bucket-list he is hoping to complete including flying a jet-plane, which, may we be so bold to suggest, is not part of your typical teenager’s backpacking experience.
He’s also looking forward to bungee jumping and meeting up with some of his "well-known friends" such as Mollie King. Sorry, Mollie who?
ITV’s director of digital channels and acquisitions Angela Jain said: "Tom’s career as a diver has captivated the nation, we hope this show will give people the chance to see the teenager behind the trunks as he enjoys his global back-packing adventure."
To be honest, we don’t think Daley’s itsy-bitsy trunks hid much of the teenager.
Juliet Rice, head of factual entertainment at the production company Twofour said: "I am always amazed by Tom’s schedule and his commitment to his sport. This six-week adventure will give him the chance to let his hair down and face a whole set of new experiences like any other teenager on the cusp of adulthood."
So if you spot a young man being followed by a film crew around the world, you’ll know it’s just another backpacking teenager.
No date has been confirmed for the screening of the programme. We can’t wait.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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