Dearly loved TV presenter Judith Chalmers passed away at her home on Thursday evening, May 21, aged 90. She had entertained and brought joy to millions of Brits, introducing them to Spain and other sunny climes.

Family members issued a statement on Friday confirming she died peacefully surrounded by loved ones after living with Alzheimer’s in her final years. Her health had declined gradually, and she became seriously ill in recent weeks, which gave relatives their time to stay close by her side.

Relatives described an extraordinary life spanning more than 60 years in broadcasting with adventures across the globe. They noted she leaves behind a wealth of happy memories.

Early entry into broadcasting

Judith Chalmers first appeared on air at the age of 13 after selection for BBC Northern Children’s Hour. Born in Gatley, Cheshire, she went on to present popular BBC radio programmes, including Family Favourites and Woman’s Hour, throughout the 1960s.

More television work included presenting the ballroom dancing competition Come Dancing between 1961 and 1965, when dancers still “sewed on all their own sequins”. She also regularly fronted the ITV daytime magazine programme Good Afternoon and its later versions during the 1970s.

Iconic role in Wish You Were Here…?

However, Judith Chalmers was probably best loved through her long association with the travel series Wish You Were Here…?. She began presenting the 30-minute holiday reports in 1974 and continued until 2003.

Many episodes featured destinations around the world and offered practical advice for viewers planning their own trips. Co-hosts over the years included Chris Kelly and John Carter.

Her contributions to broadcasting earned recognition in 1994 when she received an OBE. She also hosted Miss World on ITV along with related UK beauty pageants in the 1980s and presented a mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1990 to 1992.

Family life and later years

Judith Chalmers married former sports commentator Neil Durden-Smith in 1964. The couple raised two children, and she is survived by her husband and their family, which includes six grandchildren.

One son, Mark Durden-Smith, followed her into television presenting. In later years she made occasional appearances on programmes such as Celebrity Antiques Road Trip and Celebrity Taste of Italy.

Broadcasters and viewers have been paying tribute to her warm style and extensive career that introduced countless people to the joys of travel through television. Her work on Wish You Were Here…? in particular created lasting connections with audiences over nearly three decades.

Family members expressed deep sadness at her passing yet emphasised the many positive recollections she leaves behind.

After years of legal fights, court hearings and endless headlines in Spain, Shakira has finally scored a major victory against the Spanish tax authorities.

Spain’s National Court has ruled that the Colombian singer did not commit tax fraud linked to her 2011 world tour and that she was not officially living in Spain during the period being investigated. The decision means the tax agency may now have to return around €60 million that had been claimed from the artist, along with interest and legal costs.

For Shakira, it is the end of another exhausting chapter that followed her for years both in courtrooms and across front pages.

And in Spain, where celebrity tax cases tend to attract enormous attention, the ruling is already generating huge debate.

The entire case came down to one question: was Shakira really living in Spain?

That was the central issue from the beginning. Back in 2011, Shakira was constantly travelling around the world for a massive international tour involving more than 100 concerts across 37 countries. According to her legal team, she did not have an official home in Spain at the time, did not yet have children there and did not run her business operations from the country either.

Spanish tax authorities believed otherwise.

Under Spanish law, a person generally becomes a tax resident if they spend more than 183 days per year physically present in Spain. Hacienda argued that Shakira had effectively established residency and therefore owed taxes linked to earnings from the tour.

But according to the National Court, the numbers simply did not support that argument.

Judges stated that even the tax agency’s own calculations only placed the singer at around 163 days in Spain during the relevant period. Shakira herself reportedly acknowledged spending closer to 143 days in the country that year.

Either way, both figures remained below the legal threshold.

The ruling also rejected attempts to include what Spanish authorities described as ‘sporadic absences’ to increase the number of days attributed to her stay in Spain.

According to the court, there was not enough evidence proving Spain had become the centre of Shakira’s economic activity at the time.

In fact, judges concluded that most of her professional structure and business operations remained based abroad.

The court ruling could now force Hacienda to return millions

The financial consequences are enormous. Spanish reports say the tax agency may now have to return the €60 million linked to the dispute, together with accumulated interest and the singer’s legal costs after years of proceedings.

One part of the ruling especially caught attention among legal observers in Spain.

The National Court reportedly ordered the tax administration to cover legal costs, something that does not happen automatically in these kinds of cases. In practice, it often suggests judges considered parts of the case insufficiently justified.

The decision can still be appealed before Spain’s Supreme Court, but for now the ruling represents one of the biggest legal victories Shakira has had since her long running tax problems in Spain began making headlines.

For years, the singer became one of the country’s most visible examples of Hacienda pursuing internationally famous public figures over tax residency disputes.

Every hearing, agreement and investigation linked to her name generated huge media coverage both in Spain and abroad.

The situation became even more high profile because of Shakira’s relationship at the time with former Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué.

The couple’s life in Spain kept the singer constantly in the public eye, making the legal battle impossible to separate from celebrity coverage.

Shakira says the case affected her health and reputation

After the ruling became public, Shakira released a strongly worded statement expressing relief and frustration after years of legal pressure.

The singer said she endured years of public accusations, reputational damage and emotional strain while insisting there had never been any fraud.

“After more than eight years enduring brutal public exposure, campaigns designed to destroy my reputation and sleepless nights that affected my health and my family’s wellbeing, the National Court has finally put things in their place,” she said in comments published by Spanish magazine Diez Minutos.

She also accused authorities of using her public image to send a warning message to other taxpayers.

According to Shakira, every stage of the process was leaked, amplified and distorted publicly in ways that caused major personal damage.

Her comments are already resonating with many people in Spain who feel tax investigations can sometimes become highly aggressive, especially in high profile cases.

At the same time, the ruling is likely to reopen wider discussions about how Spain handles tax residency disputes involving wealthy international figures whose work and lives are spread across several countries.

For now though, one thing is certain. After nearly a decade of legal battles, one of Spain’s most famous tax cases has ended with a court firmly siding with Shakira.