Grown-Up Gappers (BBC2); Fat Friends (ITV1): MARGO Carmichael is a wealthy nightclub, bar and property owner from Blackburn who, at 63, decides to take a four-month trip to South East Asia, Pakistan and India "in search of herself".

This widow finds it hard to let go of the reins and delegate responsibility to others in her business. "If you're not careful, you build a business and build yourself a prison," she says.

In Grown-Up Gappers - the first of a series in which people over 35 emulate gap year students and go travelling - she spent much of the early part of her trip in tears.

The problem was fairly obvious to other people. Back home, friend Adrian suggested that she hadn't recovered from the death of her son Adam three years ago.

Eventually, at a beach retreat in Penang, Margo acknowledged this - that she'd worked and worked to stop herself thinking about it. Amid floods of tears, she finally came to terms with her son's death and felt able to move on. "I know I'm crying but I feel okay," she said.

This was a probably rather different programme to the one the makers thought they were going to make. But they didn't lose out as Margo pressed on with her journey as a Brit abroad, one who expected other people to speak English rather than her learn their language.

Her attempt to be more adventurous didn't work. She put down the guidebook, boarded a train in Malaysia and decided to get off wherever the fancy took her.

It took her to Johor Bahru. This proved a disappointment. She thought it sounded "a bit jungly" but turned out to "look like Manchester on a wet day". She got straight back on the train.

The familiar figures from Fat Friends were returning from a holiday in Malaga as the fourth series opened. Kevin had fallen asleep in the sun and burnt his private areas. "Great balls of fire," noted wife Kelly, adding that he'd ruined their chances of joining the mile high club.

He had a different sort of close encounter on the plane when he accidentally pressed the flush button in the toilet and his bottom was sucked down the loo pan.

Kay Mellor's series is as broad as the women dieters and as saucy as a seaside postcard. It's also showing signs of age. Far too much time was spent with Betty (Alison Steadman) getting to know her long lost son Simon, whom she gave away as a baby. Simon's wife, adopted mother and Betty's daughter Kelly were all finding it difficult to cope with the news.

Thank goodness for Mellor's ability to make the audience laugh through the tears. Like Kevin's description of Kelly in a bad mood: "Ooh, eck, she's got her Exorcist head on."

Published: 18/02/2005