My Favourite Holiday: I wish I was back in Mustique or Mauritius, says Anthea Turner

ANTHEA TURNER is a former Blue Peter presenter who was also a mainstay of GMTV and the National Lottery Draw.

Now Anthea, 57, has just launched a new business venture, The At Home Box Company.

Customers take out a three, six or 12-month subscription and get gifts delivered in a presentation box.

For full details, see theathomeboxcompany.com

I DID ITV’s Wish You Were Here? for three years after Judith Chalmers retired.

I think I did 23 locations a year, so I clocked up a lot of places and then there were a lot of Blue Peter trips, too, plus a UK holiday show.

As the main presenter on Wish You Were Here? you’d often get the more routine destinations they didn’t want to ask a guest presenter to do. But I still got to see some amazing places.

If I had to pick one out it’d be Mustique, which was so beautiful.

It was one of those places that was so special I did go back for a holiday. It’s the place to go for a “fly and flop” break.

And I’m a big fan of Mauritius as well.

By definition, a holiday is something different from your normal routine.

I don’t see the point in doing what you usually would and I like holidays where there’s something to do rather than just sitting around.

I like horse riding breaks and I’m a reasonably competent rider.

I’ve done them in the French Corbieres, which is a beautiful undulating area, not dissimilar to the Peak District.

You can’t beat going to a ranch in America and I’ve also been lucky enough to have ridden in Argentina.

But if I had to go to somewhere quickly then it’d be Majorca every time as it has a nice long season.

The funny thing is, that having jetted the world for work and pleasure, as a kid I never left Britain.

I didn’t go abroad until I was much older.

As a family, back in the ’60s and ’70s, it was very much UK breaks in Cornwall, Scotland and Wales.

I have some wonderful memories and, when we get the weather, the UK is a brilliant place.

When you’ve just got that precious two weeks then you don’t want to spend it in the rain.

But I always think that on a sunny day you really can’t beat Devon and Cornwall.