Our Shirley Valentine Summer

Contents of this press pack are strictly embargoed until 00.01, Tuesday, 10th July, 2018.

Series synopsis

Our Shirley Valentine Summer, will see Melinda Messenger, Sian Lloyd, Nancy Dell’Olio, Aggie MacKenzie, Ninia Benjamin, Lizzie Cundy, Annabel Giles and Ingrid Tarrant, escape to a Greek island for the summer – rediscovering themselves and even looking for love. Under the glow of the Mediterranean sun the cast will live together under one roof, as they discover the islands, the challenges of communal living and the ups and downs of dating.

They are all single and at a crossroads in their lives. All of them harbour a passion to try something new or pursue long held dreams in an attempt to transform their lives, for the better. Sharing a desire to work out what to do with the next chapter of their lives, some want the opportunity to learn a new skill or test drive a new career.

Each of the ladies has a personal goal, for example, overcoming a marriage breakdown, losing weight, building self-confidence and many of them will spend time dating. For some, it could be their first date in a decade, whilst others are looking for someone special to spend the rest of their lives with.

From the makers of The Real Marigold Hotel, Twofour, this feel good series captures the beauty of the Greek Islands: the people, the colours and the way of life, as this group of brave women explore what else life can offer them.

Episode 1 Arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Naxos, our cast of eight single well known women begin to reveal their hopes and dreams for their month living together; Lizzie Cundy is desperate to find love again, Annabel Giles is seeking joy and adventure, and as an advocate for sex in your sixties, Aggie MacKenzie is excited about starting the next chapter of her life. Determined to get stuck into island life, Melinda Messenger starts to fulfil her dream of living off the land and Lizzie is smitten by a Greek language teacher who asks her out on a date. After Ingrid Tarrant reveals the details of her marriage breakdown and in the hope of meeting the man of their dreams, some of the group follow in the footsteps of an ancient Greek tradition and meet a third generation matchmaker. Nancy Dell’Olio declares that she will be his biggest challenge and Ninia Benjamin reveals her last long term relationship was 20 years ago. Their first week together culminates in a trip to the neighbouring island of Paros, a mecca for those seeking inner peace. The local guide takes a shine to Sian Lloyd and some of the group take part in a rather revealing dance meditation session.

Press contacts Press Contact - Anna Collins - 01752 727484 - Anna.collins@twofour.co.uk Picture Contact - Peter Gray - 0207 157 3046 - Peter.Gray@itv.com

Interview with Lizzie Cundy How would you summarise your trip? “It was a total life changer for me. The most incredible, rewarding experience in so many different ways. The show made me see how shallow my life was at home and some of the people who surround me are so false and not real friends. It truly opened my eyes up to there being much more than glam dresses and makeup and to real people and a different, healthier living lifestyle. The show was so rewarding for me personally as it pushed me out of my comfort zones (sailing, climbing mountains, wearing no makeup, etc. ) and made me realise I can actually achieve anything and do anything. It

made me value those I truly love and to get my priorities right in my life. The show made me see what’s important. I feel a much better and stronger person from the whole experience.” What was the most memorable part of the experience? “My most memorable experience was running my own taverna. I always dreamed of having my own restaurant, but to actually take over someone’s restaurant and run it as my own was something I will never forget. I proved to myself I could do it and do it well! The whole night was a huge success! The girls took my instructions, they did their roles as I told them, and together we worked as a team. We all bonded this night. Best night ever!Another memorable experience was going back to Crete to Elounda, to finding my parents’ old holiday villa and then searching for my old Greek boyfriend after 32 years! To go back to the place after all those years and see the changes and see where the last holiday I had with my late father was. It was our last happy holiday together. It was a very emotional experience and one that I will never forget and I will cherish forever.” What surprised you the most? “The biggest surprise was how in love with the simple life I was. I adored the whole Greek way of life, the growing your own produce, looking after our own chickens, not wearing makeup, enjoying nature and the company of 7 strangers and loving our daily routines and company. I didn’t miss my mobile, I didn’t miss Instagram, the rushing around of London and the red carpet events. I enjoyed the peace and the simple things like real friendships and real proper conversations and laughter.” Did you learn anything about yourself? “I learnt to love myself and that people will love me for me. Not for what dress I can get them or for the way I look. What’s inside is what matters. I learnt the real Lizzie Miller is someone who actually does deserve real love in return. The experience made me learn that the most important thing in life are real friendships, that gives you more fulfilment than any man can and not to feel a man is your answer to happiness. I believed in myself again, I learnt to get my confidence and belief back, made me see I can achieve anything I want to in life. Why not take risks as I can actually do it and I did! I also learnt that life begins at 50!” Who did you bond with? “I bonded with Aggie, her yoga and laughter I adore! I bonded with Ingrid with her great late night chats. With Annabel, who helped me believe in myself and we shared so many experiences with. Sian who never failed to make me smile. Melinda who made me see myself in a different light. To be honest all these ladies I bonded with in one way or another and cherished the whole experience with them.”

Interview with Aggie MacKenzie How would you summarise your trip? “One of the most interesting, enriching, joyous experiences of my life.” What was the most memorable part of the experience? “Definitely the taverna evening - gruelling but overall great.” What surprised you the most? “Melinda was the biggest surprise to me. I had a mental image of her that was totally different from the reality. She is an immensely impressive individual; hugely generous in spirit. And

full of fun!” Did you learn anything about yourself? “I learned how to walk like a model (lessons from Annabel and Lizzie!).” Who did you bond with? “I bonded with Ingrid, Annabel and Lizzie mainly.” Did you have any romance? “No romance! Though I did warm to the last man I dated (the retired lawyer from Athens). If I had been there longer, I would have seen him again. I know he liked me.”

Interview with Annabel Giles How would you summarise your trip? “I feel very grateful to have had this opportunity to take some time out of my daily life in order to consider how I would like to live this next part of my life.” What was the most memorable part of the experience? “Realising that I have been taking life very seriously, and that now is the time to have fun!”

What surprised you the most? “Despite living on my own for so long, I realise that I enjoy living with others for the company and chatting through the minutiae of daily life. And yes, I would like to have a partner to hang about with - something I thought I didn’t need. I was also much more flexible than I thought; the only thing I brought from the UK was Yorkshire Tea bags!” Did you learn anything about yourself? “I am much more resilient than I realised. I have had some difficult things to deal with in my life, and I’m still here. I love to dance, to challenge myself by learning new and difficult skills and am desperate to explore the rest of the world…” Who did you bond with? “Aggie, although we hardly worked together; she is a loving, giving person with a great energy and lust for life. And I think Lizzie and I can learn a lot from each other; she needs to slow down a bit and I need to speed up!” Did you have any romance? “Sadly not, although to have started a relationship with a Greek man would have been geographically inconvenient! I was so scared of the idea of romance that I had a panic attack before speed dating; now, I’m ready to embrace the idea of letting someone in to my life as well as sharing theirs, and will certainly enjoy the search for that lucky individual!”

Interview with Sian Lloyd

How would you summarise your trip? “The trip was like a breath of fresh air - a fascinating month of fun on a magical island.”

What was the most memorable part of the experience? “I loved the cosy girly late night chats, meeting the lovely Greek people, cooking for paying customers in the taverna (high pressure!), cycling, the freshest of fresh orange juice, the walks with my date and learning how to shear sheep!”

What surprised you the most? “How brilliantly we bonded, how utterly delicious the food was on Naxos and how bizarre the speed-dating experience proved to be.”

Did you learn anything about yourself? “That I liked communal living, thrive on female friendship and that flying solo in life holds no fears for me.”

Who did you bond with? “I already knew Ingrid and Lizzie, so a head start there. Melinda is a special person with great emotional intelligence and Aggie is such fun and so able. But everyone brought something to the table.”

Did you have any romance? “Just a love affair with the island! Though I thoroughly enjoyed my meeting Chris.”

Interview with Ingrid Tarrant How would you summarise your trip? “Sharing stories with seven sassy, single, independent thinking women and the new unique experiences we gained from immersing ourselves in the Naxos way of life was positively fun and enlightening.” What was the most memorable part of the experience? “The post-mortums on the dates! Soul baring conversations. Yoghurt the goat. The Ascension day.”

What surprised you the most? “The strong bond and frame work of support that evolved so naturally between us from everyone automatically accepting and respecting each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” Did you learn anything about yourself? “That I have an awful lot to learn from my children and other parents about being a better mother.” Who did you bond with? “Everyone - in very different ways for very different reasons.”

Interview with Melinda Messenger How would you summarise your trip a sentence? “Eye opening and potentially life changing!”

What was the most memorable part of the experience? “Taking my daughter around the island, finding the house.”

What surprised you the most? “How kind and welcoming the locals were, and how much I enjoyed living with the others.”

Did you learn anything about yourself? “That I enjoy being pushed to do new things, I think… that I’m more sociable than I realised, that I could create a very different kind of life.”

Who did you bond with? “All of the women but mainly Ingrid, Aggie, Sian.”

Did you have any romance? With the sea and the mountains and the food! Totally fell in love.”

Interview with Ninia Benjamin How would you summarize your trip? “Oh my. An eye opener!”

What was the memorable experience? “It’s got to be driving the

boat. I hate the sea, I hate boats and I didn’t think that I would love

driving a boat or sailing! It’s got to be the navigating the waves - I

will never forget that feeling. Never. No wonder people love the

sea, very liberating!”

What surprised you the most and your experience? “What

surprised me the most is that I’m really creative, more than I

initially suspected. I’ve got this real creative side to me that I

ignored or didn’t believe but the painting made me go ‘wow!’. I discovered that I am an artist. I

knew that I might like painting, even though I couldn’t draw and was rubbish at art at schoo,l but I

discovered truly painting with an easel and a canvas with acrylics and water, mixing colours and it’s

just was glorious. Very meditative. It’s absolutely something that I am going to continue.”

Did you learn anything about yourself? “I learnt that I’m a quiet person, even though to me, it’s

only my perception, outwardly I don’t seem that way. I have bright red hair, red locks, red glasses,

colourful in what I wear, the job I do as a stand-up you have to be outgoing, but actually what I

found in that relaxed peaceful setting is that I’m really quite quiet more than I ever suspected. I am

an observer. What I found is that I didn’t have to vocalise my observations or I didn’t need to speak

in order to be present. I never realised quiet, such the opposite of me, as a person really. That I

found ‘ooh!’”

Who did you bond with? “Melinda Messenger and Ingrid, and Aggie through the yoga. Ingrid just

had a whirlwind presence around her but yet she’s very in tune. She just reached out to me one day.

I knew who Melinda Messenger was and I thought ‘oh she’s a pretty girl!’ She just is as lovely as her

face. Really down to earth. Aggie has a patience that is to me, saintly. I couldn’t do half the yoga

moves in the beginning - even some of the simplest things - just that gentle encouraging patience,

she made me feel safe. Plus she was always in the kitchen and she’s a cooker lady. We just had some

really good chats in the kitchen whilst cooking or making something to eat. Lovely, I just really

bonded with her. And of course Miss Nancy D. Nancy is everything I expected and more. A woman

who knows what she wants and knows how to get it. I love that about Nancy. She is the sexy – the

absolute opposite of me always well-turned out! Opposites attract. Plus she would spray me with

her perfume, love that.”

Now you’re back do you feel like a lot has changed in terms of wellbeing, with your perspective of

romance and your art now you’re back? “Now I’m back I do have a different perspective, now I feel

like I’m ready to lose weight again but I feel relaxed into that I can do it and that I have other

avenues apart from eating so I can pick up a paintbrush or a canvas and paint... How to relax, truly

relax, especially with the yoga. Taking time out to breathe properly, which I didn’t have that chance

before going away so I could sit on my balcony in my room and you just see the sea and the other

island across the water from where we were. It just gives you a whole space to breathe - even to not

think - because we think too much here in England. That’s my perspective there and I’ve got other

avenues that I didn’t even have before, didn’t even know I could have before. I’d love to take up

sailing…”

ENDS

Our Shirley Valentine Summer starts on Thursday, 19th July at 9.30pm on ITV

Please give the show a full credit when using material contained in this press pack.