Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour is a brand new 6-part series, airing on RTÉ One, beginning Sunday 17 July 2016 at 8.30pm.
Francis Brennan, star of RTÉ’s At Your Service, is Ireland’s best-known hotelier. He’s also a man with a serious passion for travel.
This summer he’s putting his 5 star day job on hold and taking 12 paying guests on a surprise trip of a lifetime – to India!
Francis has planned a 1000km round trip of India’s Golden Triangle – beginning in the capital city Delhi, then onto Agra, home of the majestic Taj Mahal. From there the group travels onto the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur, followed by a tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park.
With temperatures hitting a record breaking 51 degrees the heat is on for Francis. Can he stay cool as he deals with fistfuls of facts and figures and a jam-packed 24/7 schedule that leaves no room for error? Not to mention the threat of Delhi belly!
PROGRAMME ONE – DELHI – BILLING
Francis Brennan leads 12 paying tourists on the surprise trip of a lifetime. In tonight’s programme Francis’s guests assemble at Dublin Airport and their mystery destination is revealed – India! The news goes down well with some, less so with others. Francis has organised an intense ten-day journey to the heart of India, a land of great beauty and extraordinary contrasts. They’ll soon be seeing New Delhi, the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur and the breathtaking Taj Mahal. But how will Francis and his guests cope with the 50 degree heat, spicy food and intense poverty?
PROGRAMME ONE – DELHI – SYNPOSIS
Francis Brennan is taking 12 paying tourists from all over Ireland on the surprise trip of a lifetime. They have no idea where they’re heading, it’s only when they meet up with Francis in Dublin Airport that they’ll discover their destination.
In tonight’s programme the 12 tourists meet each other, and Francis, for the very first time. And their mystery destination is revealed – India!
Francis has organised an epic 10-day journey of India’s ‘Golden Triangle’ taking in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. It’s going to be quite a journey – how will Francis’s 12 guests cope with the heat, food and culture shock?
Francis will have his work cut out to keep his tourists happy – before they leave hairdresser David Martin from Co Wicklow admits: “India wouldn’t be somewhere I’d like to visit …”.
Meanwhile, B&B owner Josephine Walsh from Bantry phones her family from the airport, proclaiming: “India? India? You’d never book a holiday to India!”.
Francis’s Grand Indian Tour kicks off in the capital city, Delhi, where he’s arranged an exhilarating rickshaw ride along the thronged city streets and through the hectic Chandni Chowk market. The 300-year-old market is one of Delhi’s busiest spots and the surrounding roads notoriously chaotic – Francis’s guests are quickly immersed in the real sights and sounds of the city.
In this programme the group also visit India’s most potent symbol of nationhood, Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. For Garda Edel Corcoran from Co Dublin, who signs off all her emails with a Gandhi quote, it’s a moving and memorable experience.
Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour is underway …
Guests on Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour:
Deirdre Mc Donagh & Kathleen Macdonald
53 & 52, Co.Dublin
Deirdre and Kathleen are lifelong best friends who met at primary school and are now neighbours. They are also Scout leaders and both have a long list of hobbies including knitting, golf, walking, book clubs, backwoods cooking, cycling – and even stained-glass making. They brought the knitting needles on the Tour and had the bus making friendship bracelets!
Deirdre works as a credit controller for Car Zone.ie, and Kathleen is a Montessori Pre-School teacher. Deirdre and Kathleen went to India leaving their husbands, teenage children and brown Labradors (another shared interest) back at home.
Noreen & Jo Coughlan
53 , Charleville Co.Cork & 45 Bruree Co.limerick.
Noreen and Jo are sisters and best friends. Both sisters are married with no children and they both help look after their elderly parents. Noreen is a full-time carer for their mother, and Jo works as a part-time hairdresser / part-time farmer, working on the family’s cattle farm.
The sisters really wanted to go on the Grand Tour as it had been 17 years since their last “wild” holiday together! They are both fashion mad and both sport some great outfits in India, with lots of bling, including silver shorts!
Josephine Walsh
53, Bantry, Co.Cork
Prior to going on the Tour Josephine had never travelled on her own without her husband. As a B&B owner she rarely gets the opportunity to travel as she is tied up with the running of the business 24/7.
Once Francis broke the news to this charismatic landlady that the mystery destination was India, Josephine immediately called her husband, proclaiming; “India! India! You’d never book a holiday to India!”
Karen Hurley
24, Co.Cork
The baby of the group is 24 year old nurse Karen from Ballincollig. Karen lives at home with her two parents and brother. She works night shifts, and joined the Tour as she wanted a completely different experience. She is also a huge fan of Francis Brennan!
As a nurse Karen came in very handy in India to help Francis deal with his tourists maladies, which for many included the notorious “Delhi Belly”!
Eddie McDaid
66, Co.Donegal.
Eddie is the eldest in the group. He runs his own painting and decorating business. He is a widower as his wife Catherine died of cancer ten years ago. They had plans to travel after they retired but sadly that was not to be.
Eddie is the least well travelled in the group – his travel abroad is limited to Benidorm in 1971 for his honeymoon, and then spent 4 days in Italy many years ago. He loved going on the Tour as it meant he didn’t have to travel alone. When on the trip Eddie came to a realization that when he returns home he is “going to take it handy and consider retiring”.
Edel Corcoran & Nollaig McAndrew
Both 28, both Gardaí
Friends Edel & Nollaig met during the fitness test when applying for the Gardaí Síochanna. Nollaig is originally from Ballina, Co.Mayo, but is currently placed in the Galway Garda Station. Edel is from Newcastle Co Dublin and is based in Dublin. Edel describes herself on her application form as an ‘easy on the eye Garda’. The Gardaí had done their investigative work before leaving and correctly guessed that their mystery destination was India!
Sean O’Mahony
43, Co.Cork
Sean is a Financial Advisor from Mallow in Co.Cork. Sean is an animal lover, and was one of the few in the group lucky enough to see a tiger in the Ranthambhore National Park (episode 5).
In episode 2 we see Sean with the Salaam Baalak Trust who run a street walking tour (the same tour that Prince William and Kate Middleton took recently when visiting India). Sean was very moved by the poverty and the inspirational work done by the charity, “I’m going to go back a changed person, because we have so much at home compared to what they have here”.
David Martin & Andrew McKenna
40 & 41, Wicklow
The hairdressing husbands met online on a dating app 5 years ago, and have been married (civil partnership) for the last 2 years. They work together in their salon.
The couple admit that the Grand Tour really brought them out of their comfort zone. In episode 1 they describe how they feared for their lives on their first day in Delhi when Francis organised a rickshaw ride along Delhi’s chaotic streets and around the hectic Chandni Chowk market. Andrew said “for me it was like a warzone”.