The Location, Location, Location presenter, 52, received mixed opinions online after revealing she allowed her 15-year-old son to go interrailing across Europe with his 16-year-old friend this summer. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday, Allsopp said she agreed to it as she feels he is a “very sensible young man”, but admitted she struggled emotionally as she missed him over the summer break. Reflecting on how perspectives have changed on allowing young people freedom, she said: “In previous generations, people did things far younger.
“We are looking at a mental health crisis with young people. A lot of people are talking about it and writing about it. “We have to ask ourselves – how much of this is because of our fear and our worry, and how much of our fear and worry stems from 24-hour news and a lot of belief that the world is a worse place?” She pointed out her elders had taken on major pursuits as teenagers, including her father-in-law joining the Arctic convoys of the Second World War aged 16, her mother-in-law going to university in South Africa aged 15 and her father joining the army at 17.
The discussion came about after Allsopp shared on X, formerly Twitter, that her son had just returned from three weeks of interrailing, travelling through Europe usually via train, with his friend. She wrote: “For obvious budget reasons, inter-railing isn’t on the cards for everyone, but in this increasingly risk-averse world it’s vital that .