Judith Ralston and Grado on their laugh-out-loud Scottish road trip

Grado and Judith Ralston in front of a small airplane in the grounds of the Newhall Mains in the Highlands.

Having taken in the best sights and stays the country has to offer, Grado and new Scotland’s Greatest Escape co-host Judith Ralston have come back from their recent adventure with enough holiday snaps to fill several albums.

The unlikely pairing of wrestler and weather presenter have also picked up another valuable souvenir – a flourishing friendship that has them in fits of laughter as they recount some of their travel tales ahead of the first episode airing tomorrow.

Having fronted the first two series solo, Grado was delighted to have a new tag team partner to have a real laugh with on the road.

Grado and Judith at the Holm Agricultural Show in Newcastleton in the Borders.

“I knew that I’d be doing it with somebody who was up for a laugh,” he said. “Judith’s very funny and from the minute we jumped into the back of a van we had banter the full shift, it was tremendous.

“We both work a lot of the time in the cities and it’s rare we get the chance to jump on the road and explore.

“It was a big reminder of how beautiful Scotland is and how much we really don’t appreciate it.”

Grado and Judith on a motor boat off the coast of Saint Abbs in the Borders.

Judith was also thrilled to join her new pal for the ride.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Grado, he’s got such a heart of gold,” she said.

“That was what melted me, he’s a really good soul. He got recognised all over the place and always had time to speak to people.”

Grado chimed in, laughing: “That’s good, put that in! There were also some older gentlemen that were, how do I put it, weak at the knees seeing Judith. That was always very entertaining.

“I think she made some of these guys’ dreams come true just by standing next to them.”

A new friendship

They have met in passing previously, but the new series is the first time the two have teamed up.

Paired for a screen test on a Rosie-and-Jim-style canalboat trip, they clicked instantly and have become firm friends with plenty of tales – whether it’s hearing each other break wind for the first time, Grado baring all on camera by accident or the perils of going to the toilet in a wind-buffeted tent.

But becoming best pals didn’t mean Grado ignored the rule of ladies first when it came to taking on a daunting bungee jump at Killiecrankie in Perthshire.

The pair in harnesses at the bungee jump at Killiecrankie in Perthshire.

“Hats off to Judith because she went right in there and was brilliant,” he laughed. “I’m meant to be the big wrestler, scared of nothing … but as you’ll see on the show, I’m a big feartie. If you watch it back I look like a baby that’s just come right out the womb!”

Judith said: “I was quite glad I’d done it and could show my kids that I was brave and did it. There’s a lot of activities in the series. Neither of us are particularly outdoorsy so it was really stepping out of our comfort zone.”

‘I’m even more in love with Scotland’

While the first two series had a competition element between accommodation providers, this is more of a road trip adventure and love letter to what Scotland has to offer, from stunning sights to the people that keep things running.

“I am so in love with Scotland and this has made me fall even more in love,” Judith said. “My heart soared at some of the views. We’re exploring places like Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, which people often bypass or prefer to go up north. But they’re both so strikingly beautiful.”

Of course, having someone who knows the weather is pretty handy for a trip round Scotland’s unpredictable climes, and Judith gave her co-star a new outlook on embracing the conditions that make us such a green and pleasant land.

Paddle boarding on Loch Tay with an instructor at the Taymouth Marina.

“It was great to see her passion for the weather,” Grado said. “She’d look up at the sky and find a certain sort of cloud, lick her finger and put it in the air and know what was happening.

“It also meant I had a good contact during Storm Eowyn. She was telling me exactly what to do, where it would hit and if my fence was going to get it. I was screengrabbing it and sending it to my pals going: ‘Here’s what Judith the Weather says!’”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing as Judith broke her ankle during filming – which is shown in a later episode – but she was determined to plough on.

Familiar faces

The pair hope to go on many more adventures and are delighted and humbled to have become fixtures on our screens.

Grado has expanded beyond his wrestling success to star in the likes of Two Doors Down, and, as well as nightly weather bulletins, Judith has hosted documentaries and guest-starred on Scot Squad.

“I was delighted telling everyone I was doing a series with Judith from the weather,” Grado laughed. “Everybody knows her, everybody loves her.”

Grado and Judith in front of the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse.

Judith added: “It always takes me aback when I get recognised. People are watching our programmes and liking us for being ourselves. That’s lovely. We’re like friends that come in your front room and have a wee blether about what we’re up to.

“My parents aren’t alive any more and Grado’s mum’s passed away and it’s always in the back of my mind that I wish they could have seen us. It’s humbling because we all come from normal backgrounds. It feels like you’ve achieved something.”

Scotland’s Greatest Escape, tomorrow, 10.30pm, BBC Scotland, and on BBC iPlayer