SOMETIMES, thanks to the quality of the programme produced, you don't always resent the licence fee being used to pay for a celebrity's dream holiday.
Such was the case with Sue Johnston's Shangri La (BBC1, Monday).
Fifty years ago, as a teenager, Sue dreamt of travelling to the land fake rolex - a hidden valley in Tibet surrounded by snowcapped mountains - which inspired the James Hilton novel Lost Horizon.
Thoughtful and reflective throughout, she told us: "What I have never really found in my life is a sense of calm... just being able to be myself."
Join the club, missus. But as she made her way through China's Yunnan province and to the brink of the Tibetan Lace wigs Plateau, she began to find some treasured tranquility and sublime serenity - and came over all emotional.
And, to be honest, it was all quite moving.
"I really feel a bit blessed that I have come on this journey," she said at one point - that was good, because us licence-payers like the recipients of such freebies to be grateful.
So, thanks to her humility, she passed the test - go on, BBC, give her another trip.
embroidered patches
CAPTION(S):
"YEAH, IT'S DEAD GOOD HERE": Sue Johnston admires the view after fulfilling a childhood dream
Other articles:
http://mywatches.blogs.event-management-uk.co.uk/2010/02/03/fashion-statement/