ON SCREEN, he takes like a fish to water in colourful, congested cities. But if you offered travel show host Ian Wright an air ticket to anywhere in the world, he would pin his finger on Antarctica or Siberia.

"People who are there are versatile and hard-as-nails, and the landscape is beautiful. It's like a stunning, snowy desert," said the Englishman, who first fronted Discovery Travel and Living's hit travel series Globe Trekker 13 years ago.

While isolated, these places are not as isolating as big cities like London or Tokyo, according to Wright.

The Suffolk native who now lives in London with his wife Jeanette and two teenage sons added: "London is a nasty place to arrive in if you don't know anyone. It's lonely as hell because people are too busy bustling about."

The 43-year-old shared these musings with my paper after he hosted a 5-course dinner at the Hotel Intercontinental earlier this month. It was as part of the ongoing World Gourmet Summit where diners found traditional British fare on their plates.

But is British food gourmet enough to be served at a dinner that cost guests $248?

"We've got such a bad reputation because we've grown lazy.

Cooking now seems a chore because there's so much convenience food around. But we have great stews, Sunday roasts and chips if done right," said the vegetarian, who strays off his diet regime while filming.

Wright has visited Singapore 10 times in 10 years, but the visits have always been for work.

Though work, grinned Wright - who has drawn fans for his goofy, often self-deprecating antics - is not always strictly business.

Pub visits, football matches and side-trips with colleagues to sample laksa are folded into the itinerary. Once, four years ago, his 75-year-old retiree father also tagged along for a 10-day trip.

"He liked the history museums, loved the coast and how it took no effort at all to get around the country, but we were melting like candles the whole time," recalled Wright of Sinagpore's notorious tropical heat.

Though he did not film on this trip, Wright revealed that he has been working on a new six-part series, America The Wright Way, which will be screened here in August.

The series is the debut project of his 18-month-old production house, Roast Beef Productions.

In the new travel series, Wright traverses six cities - New York, Las Vegas, Nashville, Chicago, Miami and New Orleans - in the United States.

New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was Wright's favourite choice for its cultural diversity, architecture, jazz traditions and food.

"People are dancing on the streets again. It's amazing to see how they have bounced back from the most disgusting natural disaster."

But would he ever live in America?

"No," he said abruptly. "It is too different and too materialistic. It would drive me insane."

debyong@sph.com.sg

Globe Trekker airs on Discovery Travel and Living every weekday at 7pm. America the Wright Way premieres on the same channel in August.