TV chef Rosemary Shrager on her adventures in The Real Marigold On Tour

IT seems an unlikely formula for success in the youth-obsessed world of television.

Sending a party of older celebrities off on a jaunt to the other side of the world to see whether they fancy seeing out their days there.

But the Real Marigold Hotel, inspired by the India-set Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film, was a surprise hit – including to one of those taking part, telly chef Rosemary Shrager.

“There was absolutely no way I thought anything more would come of this,” Rosemary, 66, told iN10.

“When I first heard about it I couldn’t see how they thought people would enjoy watching a programme about eight old biddies wanting to go to the loo!

“As it turned out, it’s brilliant but I just didn’t have that vision.

“It’s real and I think one of the things is that everyone in it is happy in their own skin. When you’re younger you’re trying to impress, whereas when you’re a bit older you’ve seen and done it.

“So I think it’s maybe because we just get on with it and that helps make it work.”

The format was such a hit that the veterans are off on four completely different new adventures, given primetime billing on BBC1.

The Real Marigold On Tour sees oldies including Miriam Margoyles, Wayne Sleep, Jan Leeming, Paul Nicholas, and Dennis Taylor undertake four new adventures.

China, Cuba, Iceland and Thailand are the countries vetted as to their retirement suitability.

The first episode sees Rosemary, Miriam, Wayne and darts player Bobby George head for Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in China.

“I liked China and found it a surprising country,” says Rosemary. “But everything for the elderly is run by the state.

“So, for example, there was a gym for the elderly and a university for the elderly. There was a park packed with all sorts of activities like dancing.

“Being a communist country, the people follow what is available.

“But I would like to have the opportunity to make my own decisions.”

Cuba and Iceland are the next two countries before Rosemary, Paul, Dennis and Sheila Ferguson, from the Three Degrees, investigate the prospects in Chiang Mai in Thailand.

It was, reveals Rosemary, a very different kettle of fish.

“Thailand was slightly more open and there was a lot of community spirit,” she says.

“It was very family-orientated and I was really impressed by how they perceived the elderly. They weren’t viewed as being unable to contribute to society, in fact it was the opposite.

“They really valued their experience and they were the heads of the families.

“I really liked Thailand and if there was one country that I’ve visited that I would consider living in, then that would be it.

“It was westernised, it was quite sophisticated and it has a wonderful culture. I wouldn’t quite retire there but of what I’ve seen, it was the best of the bunch.”

While Marigold’s return was warmly welcomed by Rosemary, there is one other show that she’s been involved with which she’s also hoping gets a fresh batch of episodes.

She was one of the judges on the BBC’s Big Family Cooking Showdown, hosted by Zoe Ball and Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain. It transmitted earlier this year and was hailed by some beforehand as the Beeb’s replacement to GBBO.

But Rosemary insists that wasn’t the case.

“The whole thing was commissioned before Bake Off was sold off and it wasn’t in competition,” she explains.

“When Bake Off was sold they looked at it in a slightly different way but I think it’s a wonderful programme.

“We had two million viewers for the final and more with catch-ups and so we did incredibly well for the first series.

“I really hope they commission another one because it had such a good feel about it.”

The Real Marigold On Tour, BBC1, Monday 9pm.