Coach Trip's Brendan Sheerin reveals holiday-goer died on 'worst work day' ever
Sometimes more than a postcard gets sent home from a trip abroad, as Coach Trip star Brendan Sheerin knows only too well after his "worst day at work" saw the death of a holidaymaker
Coach Trip 's Brendan Sheerin' s sunny personality has made him the nation's favourite tour guide – but there were no smiles the day someone died when he was on duty.
The 66-year-old found amassed a cult following when he was appointed the resident holiday rep on Channel 4 reality show Coach Trip, with even the late Queen reportedly a fan of the show. But he wasn't plucked from complete obscurity; he was suggested for the job by a former boss.
In 2005 Brendan was working at a seafront spa in Scarborough near his home city of Leeds when TV producer Andrew Brereton started calling around hotels asking for potential stars of a new show he'd sold to Channel 4. Brendan's manager suggested him, and he travelled to London for the interview which would change his life.
Speaking to Metro to mark the show's 20th anniversary, he revealed that there was one sticky question which came up, but it got him the job.
"These producers were young kids; they looked about seventeen. They asked me about my worst day at work, and I said when a client died. People do die on holiday, you know, it happens."
Despite the gruesome anecdote, the team could see Brendan's star quality shining through. "The next day they rang me and said ;We found the person we want; I replied, 'Oh, I'm so happy for you', and they said, 'No, Brendan, it's you, it's got to be you'. My stomach churned. I knew my life was about to change."
Coach Trip aired 640 episodes from 2005 until filming was halted by the Coronavirus pandemic in 2021, with Brendan appearing in every episode. No new episodes have been filmed since then, with Channel 4 reportedly confirming that no new episodes were in development.
The show saw Brendan visit every European country (bar Russia) and, for special series, parts of North Africa and East Asia. He would be joined by seven couples - who might be pensioners, party animals, students, or other stereotypical British holidaymakers - or, for some specials, celebrities. The show veered between twee and cut throat, with couples voting one another off as the bus made stops at different historical landmarks and beautiful cities.
Once a couple received a yellow then red card, they were forced to remove their luggage from the hold and would be left "stranded" by the side of the road. They would then be replaced with a new couple as the bus continued on its journey.
While the contestants were a main part of the programme, viewers really tuned into to see Brendan corralling them, tutting and shushhing them and making them sing new countries' national anthems as they crossed the border.
There were often some difficult personalities, but Brendan always stayed neutral. He said: "If there were people that I didn't like, then usually the group didn't like them anyway.
"When people were on the coach quite a while, they'd get a bit too comfortable and say, 'Oh, are we doing a painting class? Boring!' They would slowly get a bit more non-appreciative, but if start sitting on your laurels, there's always someone behind you waiting to take the place."
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