Tapping into Greece's heritage with…JULIA BRADBURY

The peripatetic TV presenter’s new series, The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury, sees her returning to her roots – she talks olive trees, plastic pollution and off-the-beaten trail walks.

How did The Greek Islands series come about?

It came about with me sitting at my kitchen counter thinking about my Greek roots and the more than 40,000 words in the English language whose etymology is Greek. I wanted to do a series that explored it a bit, and I thought it was time that my mum had a bit of the action on TV because my Dad’s got all the glory for the walks.

What was it like returning to your Greek roots?

Me and my mum end up on the isle of Chios, which is where my grandparents are from originally, although they emigrated to Wales. Chios is the world’s exporter of Mastiha, which derives from the mastic tree. The people of Chios harvest the resin and they turn it into just about everything... coffee, biscuits or you can just lick it from a spoon. Everyone is somehow involved in the trade, even the old yayas (grandmothers) who sit around these little wooden tables, sifting through the first harvest, talking and singing. It was a really magical experience.

Did anything surprise you?