It's been almost 20 years since Ian Wright first hit our screens in the Lonely Planet and then Globe Trekker (Pilot Guides) travel series. Having won three US Cable Ace Awards, Wright is arguably the most travelled man on the planet. His unreserved persona and witty banter in that Cockney accent continue to engage television viewers across the world. In his latest series, Invite Mr Wright, locals invite him for the weekend. Whether as a chef in Singapore, playing football in Okinawa, a monk in India or even as a tribesman in Vietnam, Wright experiences the country from a local perspective - with plenty of laughs along the way. Wright reveals more about his life as a globe trekker.
What do you never leave home without? There's no holy grail of travelling or Swiss army knife of life. If there was, I would be manufacturing it, but my things would be sketches and watercolours, pencils and a drawing book ... oh, and my passport.
Do you have a favourite location? Anywhere above the Arctic Circle as it's so alien to anything I have reference to. Greenland is half the size of Europe, but only 55,000 people live there. It's just one big ice cube in the middle of nowhere. I also love Mongolia - there are only two roads out, one to China and one to Russia. I once got a lift out on a plane. The price? My toothbrush.
What has been your strangest experience? In Cambodia 15 years ago, I was in a province the size of Wales that only had one phone. There was no technology. Nothing. I am walking down the road to a little village and hear this '70s disco music. I look down a driveway and at the end is a roller disco. There were about 40 kids having a whale of a time. I was thinking that there was one phone in the whole of this province but there were 40 pairs of roller skates.
What has been your favourite journey? The Trans-Siberian Express from Beijing to Ulan Bator
What place surprised you most? Cambodia. My only reference was the Killing Fields. It took me several days to calm down. I was walking through the paddy fields thinking what must have gone on here and the Cambodians in the city were like 'hey, check out my ringtone', but anyone over the age of 45 has the most horrific stories.