Judith Chalmers dead: ITV’s Wish You Were Here icon dies aged 90 after Alzheimer’s battle
ITV’s Wish You Were Here…? host Judith Chalmers has died at home aged 90 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, her family have revealed
Judith Chalmers reflects on her career as a travel broadcaster in 2018
Judith Chalmers, the host of ITV travel show Wish You Were Here…? has died aged 90. The host’s family revealed in a statement that she had died peacefully at home on Thursday (21 May) evening.
They said she was surrounded by her family. Her declining health had made her seriously ill in recent weeks, so the family said they had time to come together and make sure they were with Chalmers when she died.
The family’s statement to ITV news read: “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, who was born in Gatley, Cheshire, was just 13 when she began working for the BBC. Alongside her sister Sandra, she was selected to perform on BBC North programme Children’s Hour. Throughout the 1960s, she presented programmes such as Family Favourites and Woman’s Hour for BBC Radio and dance show Come Dancing from 1961 to 1965.
In the 1970s, she moved to ITV to host their daytime TV show Good Afternoon. In 1974, aged 38, she started presenting holiday programme Wish You Were Here…?, where she remained until 2003. Not only would the show provide Chalmers with almost three decades on the TV, it also sparked the career of her son Mark Durden-Smith, who hosted spin off show Wish You Were Here…? Now and Then.
In 2009, Chalmers told The Independent how grateful she was for her time on the travel programme. She said the show allowed her to see “so much of the world and discover how different it is”. She added that when she first started doing the show, a holiday consisted of “lying on the beach with lemons and oil” but she later became someone who “likes a bit of culture” too.
And holidays weren’t the only subject of conversation after Chalmers left Wish You Were Here…?. The ITV star later garnered national attention when she revealed that she was “pantless” during filming, as she didn’t want an obvious knicker line to be seen on TV.
In a 2008 episode of Loose Women, Chalmers said that she was asked by Graham Norton how many pairs of underwear she took on holiday.
After telling the Irish interviewer that she didn’t take knickers whilst filming her ITV show, she explained that the decision was taken after a wardrobe assistant told her she shouldn’t have a visible panty line. “So I’m sorry to reveal that after 30 years of Wish You Were Here, I was pantless all the time,” she laughed.
Away from the telly, Chalmers was awarded an OBE in 1994 and had two children, her son Mark and daughter Emma, with her husband Neil Durden-Smith.
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