BOURNEMOUTH had a starring role in a TV show screened across the UK this evening.

Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis chose the town for a special live show focusing on helping people save cash on their holidays.

The TV presenter and his team filmed the Martin Lewis Money Show for ITV1 at the end of Bournemouth Pier.

As part of the programme, a series of pre-recorded films were shown, including one of a wet and miserable trip Martin took to Torremolinos in Spain.

The financial guru also visited Gatwick as part of a bid to convince travellers they don't need to show their boarding passes when buying anything other than duty free goods.

Around 200 members of the public visited the pier for the show.

Martin told the Daily Echo's Seven Days magazine ahead of the filming: "We are doing holidays, so we wanted to come somewhere beautiful in Britain that's known for its holiday spirit - so we thought of Bournemouth.

"We're very pleased that we've got one of the jewels in the south coast."

He said his Spanish trip coincided with "torrential wind and rain" and asked our reporter: "How is Bournemouth's weather going to perform on the night?"

But there was little need for concern as temperatures hit 30C during the day. A series of aerial shots of the coastline aired during the programme showed hundreds still on the beach and in the sea.

It was enough for Martin to hail Bournemouth as "beautiful" and tell viewers: "You might not need to go abroad."

During the show, Martin answered questions from audience members on the pier, as well as viewers at home.

He discussed everything from insurance deals on comparison sites to flight delays and European Health Insurance cards.

At the end of the show, he listed 264 of the season's best deals in just three minutes, with details of the 'summer savers' pinned to brightly-coloured beach huts.