The hilarious Fren family from Newcastle are recognised the world over courtesy of their starring role in Channel 9 reality show Travel Guides . I had no idea where they were when I talked to them via a conference call this week but Cathy was interrupted by a passer-by – “Are you from Travel Guides ?” “Yes we are!” – and they started chatting. She doesn’t mind a chat, and neither does Mark. “One of the funny things is, I was getting breakfast and this guy comes up to me and goes ‘I know you, you’re from Travel Guides aren’t you?’ And I said ‘yes, where are you from?’ And he said ‘I’m from Israel, we loved the episode you did in Israel and we watch it all the time’,” he said. “It really is quite amazing. We’re running into a lot of Australians overseas as well. The popularity of the show is getting bigger and bigger and so is ours.” Adds Victoria: “The four of us can’t go out together without being recognised.” Cathy and Mark, and their children Jonathon and Victoria, are about to hit our television screens again for three 90-minute episodes of Travel Guides . The series follows four groups, including fellow Novocastrians Matt and Brett, as they travel overseas and take part in activities while providing a down-to-earth review of their experiences. The stars of the show are ordinary people living a life most of us can only dream of. The Frens previously owned and operated Bavarian restaurant Oma’s Kitchen on Newcastle’s Watt Street for 10 years. Their television careers came about almost by accident: Cathy auditioned for a cooking show and a year later received a call about a new reality series called Travel Guides . And the rest is history. Read more: The high flying Frens are back in business “Once we get our packing list and we know what the temperature is going to be, suitcases are packed and we get to the airport, whether it’s international or domestic, and are then told where we are off to. “That element of surprise is what we really love.” Travel Guides will take television audiences to South Africa (November 21) and the UK (November 28) followed by a special “best of” episode on December 5 where the teams recount their favourite destinations and activities. “The South African episode is absolutely amazing. One of the activities that we do, only a handful of people around the world have actually done it,” Mark said. “And England and Scotland are going to be hilarious.” The Frens return home to Newcastle “just before Christmas”. Each season takes about five months to film and they might come home “for a couple of days between trips”. “This one has been a long season, with lots of different places. But that’s the beauty of Travel Guides , they try to pick places that Australians would go to, or should go to, and then they pick different activities that you normally wouldn’t do at those places, and I think that’s where the popularity of the show comes from,” Cathy said. “It’s always a bit left of centre and that’s what we like about it. “And travelling as a family is great, we get to make all these memories together. We’re still very appreciative and humbled by the fact that we’re still on the show.” N THE NEWS: Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.
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