TV presenter Judith Chalmers dies aged 90

TV presenter Judith Chalmers, who hosted ITV’s long-running travel show Wish You Were Here…?, has died at the age of 90.

Her family 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.”

Chalmers also presented programmes including Come Dancing, ITV’s Good Afternoon, and BBC radio programmes including Woman’s Hour and her own Radio 2 show.

Her family added: “We will miss her greatly but she leaves behind a giant suitcase of the happiest of memories.”

According to ITV News, they said her health had been declining for some time and she had become seriously ill in recent weeks, giving them time to be together with her.

Chalmers began presenting ITV’s primetime show Wish You Were Here…? in 1974, continuing until 2003.

An ITV spokesman said: “As the host of Wish You Were Here…? for four decades, Judith Chalmers became one of the most beloved faces of British broadcasting.

“Her indelible contribution to television made Judith a national treasure and a lasting favourite amongst our audience, and we send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends at this very sad time.”

Born in Gatley near Manchester, Chalmers began her career at the age of just 13, when she was chosen to present radio programme Children’s Hour from the city.

She made the leap to the small screen in the 1950s on Children’s Television Club, a forerunner of Blue Peter.

She then moved to London and was an on-screen announcer for BBC TV. After fronting a number of programmes for the corporation, she moved to ITV, where she presented daytime magazine shows.

They included Good Afternoon and Afternoon Plus, the latter of which featured among other things the first TV appearances by Dame Mary Berry, who was then cookery editor of Home and Freezer Digest.

Meanwhile, she travelled the world for Wish You Were Here…?, which gave viewers a snapshot of different holiday destinations and became a popular fixture in the schedules.

Chalmers also fronted events including Miss World, and presented a daily morning show on BBC Radio 2 in the early 1990s.

She was married to sports presenter Neil Durden-Smith, and they had two sons.

In 2008, one of their sons, TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith, hosted a new version of her most famous show, called Wish You Were Here…? Now & Then, which revisited locations from the original programme.