\n The Great Escapers, which sees ITV and\u00a0Jet2holidays\u00a0team up together to whisk celebrities away on an unforgettable award-winning holiday with a twist, involves 24-year-old Georgio Michalakis, known as Gio.\n<\/p>\n
\n As part of his role as Jet2holidays\u00a0overseas customer helper, Gio jetted off to\u00a0Rhodes, Spain, Portugal\u00a0and\u00a0Malta\u00a0earlier this year to help guide famous faces from Coronation Street, I\u2019m A Celebrity\u2026, The Chase and Loose Women to create the VIP\u00a0Jet2holidays\u00a0experience.\n<\/p>\n
\n Tasked with assisting the stars decide the day\u2019s itinerary so that they could be crowned The Great Escaper at the end of the trip, Gio had to aid the celebrities in deciding their activity choices to ensure that they had the perfect getaway throughout.\n<\/p>\n
\n Gio explained what it was like filming the TV series throughout the summer and lifted the lid on his experience of working with the celebrities.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cMy family couldn\u2019t believe it when I was cast in the show, and neither could I \u2013 the whole process has been so exciting.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s still a bizarre feeling, as it\u2019s my first time stepping in front of the camera!\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMy mum has always been my number one fan, so her unwavering support has been wonderful, and my whole family is super excited to finally be able to watch the show.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The former Preston Lodge High School pupil is half-Greek, with his father hailing from\u00a0Rhodes\u00a0\u2013 the very place he met Gio\u2019s mother before moving to Scotland together \u2013 so it meant that he was able to speak the local lingo, but Catalan was a whole different story.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cI was back-to-back filming, so I wasn\u2019t able to pick up the local language.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThat being said, with me being half-Greek, I\u2019m OK in that department, but Catalan was really hard.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Having grown up travelling to the Greek island each summer, Gio\u2019s highlight was having his family join him for the final week of filming in\u00a0Rhodes.\n<\/p>\n
\n He shared: \u201cThe wrap party at the end of filming will definitely stick with me forever.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMy family hosted a big Greek night with plenty of food and dancing to thank the amazing\u00a0Jet2\u00a0and ITV production teams, seeing us party into the early hours!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n As a big fan of The Chase, Gio was particularly excited to meet the Chasers including Jenny Ryan, Mark Labbett and Shaun Wallace to help arrange their activities.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cIt was so surreal to meet them all, but Jenny Ryan in particular was one of the nicest people I\u2019ve ever met.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cShe was so down to earth and it was lovely to look over and see her chatting away to my mum during the wrap party.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Although\u00a0Rhodes\u00a0holds a special place in his heart, Gio fell in love with the culture-packed towns and golden sandy beaches of\u00a0Malta\u00a0when filming with the Coronation Street stars.\n<\/p>\n
\n He added: \u201cIt was amazing to uncover\u00a0Malta\u2019s\u00a0rich history and explore the beautiful destination for the first time.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019ll definitely be back, as I am keen to see even more of the stunning Mediterranean island.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n With the celebrities each taking it in turns to plan the ultimate holiday day trip, assisted by Gio, each episode sees the stars get involved with an array of excursions, from glass blowing to cooking classes.\n<\/p>\n
\n Having worked closely with each of the famous faces, Gio said: \u201cOti Mabuse definitely surprised me the most.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWith her being the first person I interviewed, I was really nervous to meet her, but I needn\u2019t have worried \u2013 she was so lovely.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBeing a ballroom dancer, I always associated her with glamour and luxury, so it was great to see her get stuck in with her co-stars and take them on a muddy buggy ride around\u00a0the Algarve!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Out of the 12 competing celebrities, Gio would crown Loose Women\u2019s Katie Piper as his Greatest Escaper, thanks to the luxurious catamaran trip which he helped to arrange for the group in\u00a0Tossa de Mar.\n<\/p>\n
\n He added: \u201cI\u2019d never been on a catamaran before – the boat was really impressive.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cNext time I\u2019m abroad, I\u2019m definitely going to look into hiring one for an incredible day trip!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n After stepping into the role of overseas customer helper for the show, Gio is telling holidaymakers: \u201cDon\u2019t be scared to talk to your\u00a0Jet2holidays\u00a0overseas customer helper, as they are there to advise and make sure you have the best holiday experience!\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI would definitely speak to them either at the airport or at the hotel, when visiting somewhere new to get their take on the destination and all their insider tips on where to go and what to see.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAlthough there\u2019s some great advice available online, nothing beats speaking to a local who knows the destination and can recommend some incredible things to do.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cSo, next time you are on a\u00a0Jet2holiday, go and meet your customer helper \u2013 whether it\u2019s just to say hello or to get their advice on where to go.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Following a summer filled with adventure, Gio is already planning his travel itinerary for next year.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cI want to travel everywhere next year, there\u2019s so many fantastic\u00a0Jet2holidays\u00a0destinations to choose from!\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI have plans to visit\u00a0Marrakech\u00a0with my partner for the first time, as it\u2019s a brand-new culture that I\u2019d love to experience. A mini break to\u00a0Prague\u00a0is also calling my name!\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMy own \u2018Great Escape\u2019 includes lots of food, nice drinks and restaurants – all the best bits that you can\u2019t get at home!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Great Escapers, which sees ITV and\u00a0Jet2holidays\u00a0team up together to whisk celebrities away on an unforgettable award-winning holiday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-636451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115730523364429146","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}