A Wright Family Holiday is a fun travel series which sees former TOWIE star Mark Wright get his own version of Breaking Dad as he takes his dad, Mark Snr, and footballer brother, Josh, on a UK adventure of a lifetime.
Across six episodes, the trio travel from Snowdonia and Skegness to Northumberland, Cornwall, Scotland and the Peak District, while having a go at some hair-rising activities, including bungee jumping, coasteering and even skydiving!
The aim of the trip was for Mark and his family to reconnect after Mark Snr nearly died from COVID during the pandemic and also lost his brother, Eddie, to the virus. So as well as pushing each other to the limit physically, the three also find time to open up about life, relationships, ageing and Mark’s personal fear of losing everything he’s strived for.
"Dad’s amazing but he bottles things up and sometimes it’s hard to show him weakness, so he was shocked to hear some of the things me and Josh have been through," says Mark. "But it was good to open up. We all felt a million times better afterwards and now we’re closer than ever!"
As well as pushing each other to the limit physically, the three also find time to open up about life, relationships, ageing, grief and Mark’s personal fear of losing everything he’s ever strived for.
Here's everything you need to know A Wright Family Holiday including our recent interview with Mark Wright...
A Wright Family Holiday release date
A Wright Family Holiday is a six-part series that launches on Thursday June 8 at 8pm on BBC1. All episodes will also become available on BBC iPlayer.
Is there a trailer for A Wright Family Holiday?
Yes there is and you can see the boys on A Wright Family Holiday below...
Interview: Mark Wright on what happens in A Wright Family Holiday
How did the series A Wright Family Holiday come about?
Mark Wright says: "It came about during lockdown when my dad was really sick with Covid and then lost his brother, Eddie, to the virus. Afterwards there was a lack of confidence in him, which he struggles to admit now. He’d lost that buzz he normally has. So I wanted to take him away with my brother to cheer him up and show him that there’s still so much to live for. It was also time for me to reconnect with them both because I’d been a bit distant with all my work commitments.
In each episode you take on some hair-raising challenges. What was the toughest?
Mark says: "Spending 24 hours down a disused mine! It doesn’t sound bad compared to skydiving, but it was horrendous! It was cold, wet, tiring, terrifying and physically tough. It was also scary for me and Josh watching my dad. He’s got asthma, he's not the youngest anymore and he was getting out of breath. But there was no phone reception and no help down there. It was daunting for all of us!
There’s also a hairy moment when you thought your dad had passed out during a bungee jump…
Mark says: "Yeah, so he jumped off, but when he reached the bottom of the rope he went completely silent and we absolutely crapped it thinking he’d passed out! The crew down at the bottom were running around panicking and then one of the security guards shouted, I'm going to get the defibrillator! When you watch the episode you’ll see me and Josh with our hearts in our mouths until he finally responds. It was a very scary moment!"
It's obviously very much a travel show. But would you say it also turned into a family therapy session?
Mark says: "That’s exactly what it was. I knew it was going to be like when we used to go on holiday and my dad would be playing with me and my brother in the sea and we’d have fish and chips on the beach. But I didn't realise we were going to air some of the things that we did. Dad’s amazing but he bottles things up and sometimes it’s hard to show him weakness, so he was shocked to hear some of the things me and Josh have been through. We probably consider ourselves as alpha males, but it was good to wear our hearts on our sleeves and open up. We all felt a million times better afterwards!"
You seem like a close family anyway, but what has this adventure done for your relationship?
Mark says: "I think it’s reminded us that we have to make time for each other – me especially. I’ve been working away a lot chasing my dreams and probably been a bit too driven. So it was important for me to pull back and make time for my family. Now we go out for drinks and we make sure we put it in the diaries!
Is there scope for a second series?
Mark reveals: "Dad’s not keen – he had to update our mum every half an hour! But I’d love to do another series. It was life changing. I hope it shows other families that you don’t have to go abroad to have an amazing time and also how important it is to open up to your nearest and dearest. We’re closer than ever now!
A Wright Family Holiday episode guide
Here's our brief episode guide to A Wright Family Holiday which we'll be updating as the series progresses...
Episode 1: Wales
The first episode of sees Mark Wright his dad and his brother in Snowdonia where they attempt mountain biking on one of the UK’s steepest tracks and also face what Mark says was their toughest challenge of the entire series – spending 24 hours 400m down a disused mine! "It was horrendous. It was terrifying. It was cold, wet, tiring and physically tough,’ says Mark jr. "It was also scary for me and Josh watching my dad. He’s got asthma, he's not the youngest anymore and he was getting out of breath. But there was no phone reception and no help down there. It was daunting for all of us!"
Episodes 2 Lincolnshire
Their first stop in Lincolnshire is the old-school seaside town of Skegness. After enjoying the resort’s pier and funfair, the trio hit the beach. Over a meal of fish and chips, they reminisce about the family holidays of Josh and Mark’s childhood. Before saying goodbye to Skeggy, the Wrights can’t resist stripping down to their underpants and taking a dip in the sea. Next, it’s another activity the Wrights enjoyed together years ago on family holidays, as they take to the water on jet skis. Family joker Mark can’t resist soaking his dad (several times), but an angry Mark Senior gets his revenge. The night is spent in one-of-a-kind accommodation: a decommissioned RAF jet on an old air base. As the sun sets over Lincolnshire, an emotional Mark Junior opens up to his dad and brother. Mark admits an obsession with work isolated him from his family, changed him as a person and almost pushed him to the edge. He plucks up the courage to ask his dad something that has been troubling him for years: has he let him down as a son? The following day, Mark has a plan to make memories they will share forever and takes them all skydiving. However, Mark Senior and Josh are terrified by the prospect of jumping out of a plane 15,000 feet high so they both call home to say their goodbyes just in case!
Episode 3: Northumberland
History buff Mark Senior is in his element and regales his (bored) sons with historical facts about Hadrian’s wall, local castles and the origins of Earl Grey tea. History may not be Mark Junior and Josh’s cup of Earl Grey, but quad biking through a forest very much is. However, Mark’s over enthusiasm leaves him stuck in the mud and earns him a telling off from the instructor. Mark Senior is in charge of choosing the night’s accommodation and picks rooms in 800-year-old Chillingham castle. Mark Junior is horrified to discover the castle is reputed to be the most haunted in Britain. During the night things do go bump, but is it really ghosts, or could it be the boys winding up their old man? The next morning the trio head to the coast to try ‘coasteering’. It involves climbing up and down the rocky shoreline and jumping off cliffs into the North Sea from a great height. To his surprise, Mark Junior is terrified to take the plunge. Over lunch in a traditional Northumbrian pub, father and sons reflect on the physical and mental changes that occur as a result of getting older. The visit to Northumberland ends with a relaxing trip to a spa... but it’s not quite what it seems as the Wrights are smeared with mud and wrapped in seaweed.
Episodes 4 to 6
We will update more on these as the series progresses.
