Holiday showdown is a program that is currently being aired on ITV2 (so it is a repeat of a series that was aired on ITV1 a while ago) on Saturday lunchtimes from 12.05 - 13.05.

This is a show whereby the producers select two different families, with different tastes that have never met before. They are thrown together and have to go on holiday with each other.

The types of holiday are really varied and include things like cruises, adventure holidays, camping holidays, sun and sea holidays, ski-ing holidays, missionary holidays and everything else in between.

Each family will go their 'normal' holiday for a week, during which they will go where they usually go, do exactly what they usually do and just treat it like another normal holiday. The following week they will swap over and go on the other family's holiday.

During the week that the family is not on their holiday they must abide by their rules and this includes getting up when the other family do, eating when the other family do, doing the same activities (within reason) and going to bed when the other family do and this happens whether the family likes it or not. In addition to this the family whose holiday it is fully controls the money.

At the end of the program the families have a last supper whereby they have a meal and reflect on each other's holiday. This gives each family the opportunity to say what they really thought of the holiday, as well as the other family.

****My opinion****

Holiday Showdown makes for great viewing. The producers purposely put families that like totally different types of holiday together with some great, as well as some not so great results. For example the producers have put together an adventurous family that does not go enjoy clubbing and drinking at night and lounging by the pool all day with a family that enjoys 'wilder' holidays but do not like an type of outdoor activities.

This program really does show how narrow minded and boring the Brits are when it comes to holidays. It seems that we all have our boundaries and many of us are not willing to stretch them. It shows that many of us are creatures of habit and do the same thing over and over again, year in - year out. It is like we are scared of coming out of our comfort zones.

This program attempts to drag the families out of their comfort zones and actually get them to try something different, and putting together two families from different ends of the spectrum does this nicely.

A condition of the program is that each family has to do what the other one does. So, those that do not drink or club on their holiday that go with a family that does this activity will soon be drinking and dancing the night away.

It is interesting to see how different people react to doing different things. Some families really embrace the different holiday and jump in. It is clear that some of these people don't enjoy the change but are making out they do to save face whereas some people find out that they actually like doing something different, although I don't think that it is a life changing experience for them.

At the end of the experience the families go their own separate ways and whilst most will probably never keep in contact there are some families that really bonded and planned to go away together in the future. One example of this was a middle class family that enjoyed the finer things in life and their annual cruise at a cost of over £20,000 and a less well to do family that holidayed on a converted red double-decker bus. At first glance these families looked so disparate that they would never get on but they did bond over the two holidays and it was quite endearing to watch. Whether the two families ever holidayed on the bus again we will probably never find out, which is a bit of a shame. This would make a great follow up though.

Other families will not join in preferring to endure two weeks of hell. Human being are really petty and if one family refuses to join in then the other one thinks their holiday is being wrecked so they do not join in on the other holiday. Whilst it is a shame that the experience did not work out these also make for good viewing as these families often come to loggerheads.

I think it is a bit unfair that the family whose holiday they are on controls the purse strings and dictates how much money the other family can have, and worst of all, when they can have it. This is too much control and, since money is a sensitive issue at the best of times, this often causes a lot of friction between the families.

During the program each family gives a small video documentary of their experiences and what they think of the other family. It never ceases to amaze me how back stabbing, bitchy and two faced the Brits are. Families are totally honest during the video documentary but then are the exact opposite during the next scene when they are interacting with the other family. The last supper is always interesting as the real feelings come out. This is where the comments get very personal (almost to the point of being uncalled for) and family loyalty is rife.

This is one program where the narrator has an important job to keep the program flowing and ensure that the audience remain captivated. The narrator on this program is very dull and, in my opinion, does not do a good job at all. The narrator doesn't make any comical, sarcastic or risqué remarks and he definitely doesn't capture my attention. There are far better narrators out there that would do a much better job.

All the episodes are repeats from years ago and I can remember seeing most of them when they were first aired on prime time TV. It doesn't look like the producers are planning to make a more current series of the program, which is a bit of a shame because I really do think it is a great concept.

This program is definitely worth watching and it doesn't matter whether the families get on or not. If they do get on then it is quite endearing to watch, if they don't then the cat fights and verbal matches are also worth a watch. It is a shame the narrator is so poor, but I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth.