This week’s guest is someone who many of us will feel we already know. A calm and trusted presence in our living rooms each evening, she’s one of the most familiar faces in British broadcasting - BBC News presenter, correspondent, and author, Reeta Chakrabarti.

Raised in Birmingham, Reeta spent part of her teenage years in Calcutta, India - an experience that would later shape her global perspective both as a journalist and a writer.

Her career has taken her all over the world, from covering the war in Ukraine from Lviv, to reporting on the 70th anniversary of Indian and Pakistani independence and most recently, covering the Pope's funeral from Rome. She began her career behind the scenes in radio before making the leap to become a correspondent, and finally landing in the iconic BBC News presenting chair - at the age of 49, no less. Proof that there’s no one path to success and it’s never too late to pivot.

Her travel diaries today take us from Italy to Chile, Greece to India and much more.

Destination Recap:

Holly -

• Cothelstone Manor, Somerset, England

Reeta -

• Calcutta, India
• Rome, Italy
• St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy
• Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy
• Lahore, Pakistan
• Santiago, Chile
• Valparaiso, Chile
• France
• Lviv, Ukraine
• Paris, France
• Taj Mahal, Agra, India
• Amorgos, Greece
• Brazil
• Argentina

Finding Belle by Reeta Chakrabarti, published by HarperFiction, out in hardback, ebook and audio on 8th May

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With thanks to my sponsors today -

Citalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian.

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Thanks so much for listening today. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok.

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Today we’re joined by Gaby Roslin. Gaby first burst onto our screens in the early 1990s, co-hosting The Big Breakfast with Chris Evans - a show that would become one of the most iconic breakfast TV programmes in the UK. Since then, she’s carved out an extraordinary career as a presenter and broadcaster, spanning television, radio, and podcasting interviewing everyone from Michael Jackson, to the cast of Friends.

Gaby is also a passionate traveller, with a deep-rooted sense of wonder about the world. In this episode, she takes us from the thundering majesty of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, a country close to her heart, to the timeless beauty of Rome and Florence in Italy, and the rhythm and soul that captivated her in Havana, Cuba.

So let’s dive into the travel diaries of Gaby Roslin.

Holly's Destination Recap:

• Ikos, Andalusia, Spain

Gaby's Destination Recap:

• Zimbabwe
• Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
• Rome, Italy
• Florence, Italy
• Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
• San Juan Islands, Washington, USA
• Alonissos, Greece
• Havana, Cuba
• No 15 Guesthouse Hotels, Bath, England
• Thailand
• India
• Himalayas, Nepal
• The Nest, The Treehouse Hotel, London, England

With thanks to my sponsors today -

Citalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian.

Airbnb - Visit Airbnb.com and find out more. Prospective Hosts can learn more about how much they can earn sharing their space through the What’s My Place Worth Tool.

Saily - Download the SAILY app and use our code TRAVELDIARIES at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase

Thanks so much for listening today. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is quite literally a national treasure. She’s a Dame, a queen of the kitchen, an author, a restaurateur, and of course, the judge who has been serving up wit and wisdom alongside cakes and crumbles on The Great British Bake Off since 2017… it is the one and only Dame Prue Leith.

Born and raised in South Africa, Prue moved to London in the swinging Sixties and quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the culinary world. She founded Leith’s - a hugely successful restaurant in Notting Hill that went on to earn a Michelin star - and later opened Leiths School of Food and Wine, which has trained generations of top chefs and food writers.

Over the decades, she’s written best-selling cookbooks and novels, been a newspaper columnist, a judge on the Great British Menu, and has sat on countless boards and advisory panels, all while campaigning tirelessly for better food in schools, hospitals, and prisons. Her impact on British food culture is hard to overstate. And now, at 85, she’s showing no signs of slowing down. She’s back on our screens in the new season of her wonderfully warm and personal ITV series, Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen, filmed in her beautiful country home, where she shares family recipes, chats with friends, and brings a bit of sunshine to our screens.

If you thought Prue’s adventures were limited to the kitchen, though, you can think again. From the deserts of Turkmenistan and the ancient silk roads of Uzbekistan to beach drives in Western Australia and mountain drives in Bhutan, her travel diaries are as rich and surprising as her legendary glasses collection.

So settle in for a deliciously inspiring chat with a woman whose life has been anything but ordinary.

Destination Recap:

Holly:

• Elkstones, Chipping Campden, England (Part of Simon Escapes' collection)

Prue:

• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan
• Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
• Kruger National Park, South Africa
• Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Ipswich, England
• Paris, France
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Perth, Western Australia
• Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
• Lucky Bay, Western Australia
• Core by Clare Smyth, London, England
• Cotswolds, England
• Bhutan
• Amir Temur Mausoleum, Gur-e Amir Complex, Uzbekistan
• Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
• The Kimberley, Australia

Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen continues on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player on Saturday 19th April 2025

With thanks to Wexas, Airbnb and Saily for their support of today's episode - Download the SAILY app and use our code TRAVELDIARIES at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase

Thanks so much for listening today. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.