My Favourite Holiday Laura Hamilton

Laura Hamilton is a familiar face from a host of shows including A Place In The Sun.

She used to work in kids’ TV but became much better known when she signed up for ITV’s Dancing On Ice in 2011. Laura’s skating skills were such that she went all the way to the final, finishing runner-up to ex-EastEnder Sam Attwater.

Mad-keen house renovator Laura is currently presenting Channel 4’s property show Beat My Build. She and husband Alex currently live in Surrey.

“I spent a lot of my childhood going camping and caravanning. Much of it was down on the Cornish coast around St Ives.

The beaches were beautiful and, believe it or not, the weather always seemed to be fantastic.

“My parents used to arrange rounders tournaments, rallying up all the other families. I made so many friends, some I’m still in touch with. I’ve been there filming for A Place In The Sun and all the memories came back.

“We used to go to other places you might not immediately think of. We saw a lot of Wales, including slate mines and Trawsfynydd nuclear power station!

“We also went to the Dordogne in France and I think it all gave me the bug to travel that’s never left me.

“When I was 21 I got a round-the-world ticket with a really good friend.

“We went to Hong Kong, Perth, Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney, Fiji, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and then home. It was amazing.

“I’ve spent a bit of time in North Africa Marrakech and Tangiers and all over Thailand. One place I really loved was Sri Lanka, with its beautiful beaches and tea plantations.

“I saw the temples in Kandy and a place called Anuradhapura which was stunning. I was there years after the tsunami and couldn’t believe how prevalent the damage still was after such a time.

“This year alone we’ve been to Paris, Barbados and Dubai. But if I had to pick out one special place to revisit it would be Lux in the Maldives.

“We were looking at our holiday photos just the other day and Alex said that we should go back next year. The only practicality will be getting our new baby on to the seaplane you need to take.

“But we’re definitely not going to stop travelling just because we’re parents.

“The Maldives are like nowhere else on earth. When you see photos that’s exactly what it’s like. There’s no need to doctor them to make the place look any more natural or beautiful.

“Lux is this fantastic resort on a small island. But despite the size there was no way you were wondering what you’d do. We weren’t bored for one second.

“They had shark and stingray feeding every night and there was an open-air cinema. You can also get a bike and be round the island in 20 minutes. But you can explore other islands, too.

“We got dropped off on our own deserted island with a picnic they had prepared for us.

“They gave us a mobile phone and told us just to give them a call when we wanted to be picked up.

“We found Lux was the sort of place where you could interact with other people if you wanted, or be completely private.

As told to Bill Gibb.