Legendary travel presenter d!es after Alzheimer’s battle
Heartbroken tributes have poured in for the ITV star.
Judith Chalmers reflects on her career in travel in 2018
Wish You Were Here star Judith Chalmers has died aged 90. The ITV star died peacefully at home on Thursday after a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Her family confirmed the news as they shared that her health had been declining for some time and she had become seriously ill in recent weeks, giving the family time to be together with her. In an emotional statement, they said: “After living an extraordinary life that involved over 60 years in broadcasting and countless adventures all over the globe, Judy sadly passed away last night, surrounded by the family she loved so much after suffering with Alzheimer’s for some years. We will miss her greatly but she leaves behind a giant suitcase of the happiest of memories.”
Wish You Were Here presenter Judith Chalmers has died (Image: PA)
Judith was 90 when she died (Image: Getty)
Fans have begun to share tributes. One fan on X, formerly Twitter, fondly remembered: “She encapsulated the holiday and the better times of the 1980s and 1990s. Whenever I travel I often think of her reassuringly saying, ‘transfers included’ – which rarely happens in my case.”
Another said: “Very sad… a pioneer of the travel programme,” as a third added: “Oh now that is very sad news.”
Judith began her career at the BBC at the tender age of 13, going on to present BBC Radio programmes Family Favourites and Woman’s Hour during the 1960s.
She subsequently hosted ITV’s daytime magazine programme Good Afternoon before taking the helm of Wish You Were Here…?, an ITV series of 30-minute travel and holiday shows, in 1974.
The presenter fronted the primetime programme until 2003 and was awarded an OBE in 1994. The television icon also appeared as the original Susan in The Clitheroe Kid and served as a foil on Ken Dodd’s radio show. She likewise hosted BBC’s Come Dancing from 1961 to 1965.
Throughout the 1980s she presided over the Miss World contest on ITV. In 2001 Judith appeared on Lily Savage’s Blankety Blank, and in 2013 she took part in Celebrity Antiques Road Trip alongside her son Mark.
She is survived by her husband, former sports commentator Neil Durden-Smith, and their two children.
