Alright, I’m not usually one to go on a rant, but after watching yet another travel documentary hosted by a middle-aged man, I feel compelled to speak up for women everywhere. This autumn, UK TV screens are flooded with travel documentaries, but I can’t help but wonder, “Where are all the female travel presenters?”

Last night, I watched Stephen Fry touring America in his quintessentially British London taxi. Then, Paul Merton was in India, trying his hand at cricket with a blind cricket club. Competing with him was Griff Rhys Jones, attempting to sing Gospel in New York for his “Greatest Cities of the World” series. Notice a pattern? It seems like there’s a conspiracy to feature aging male comedians on our screens all at once, only to sell us their coffee table books for Christmas.

I blame Michael Palin for starting this trend. I’ll admit, I have his videos and books on my shelf. But seriously, where are the female TV travel presenters? I want to see an adventurous woman exploring exotic places. My husband is tired of hearing me complain about it.

The closest we’ve come recently is “Tribal Wives,” where an English woman in need of a life change stays with a remote community, often leading to a prospective romance with a local. No stereotypes there, right?

I’ll make an exception for Bruce Parry, who brings a charming, if slightly mad, enthusiasm to everything he does. I can’t forget him leaping naked over cattle in an Ethiopian initiation ceremony or eagerly anticipating the hallucinogenic drug Ayahuasca, despite knowing it will make him vomit uncontrollably before giving him weird dreams.

When I was in Ecuador, our guide told us a tale of two travelers who disappeared into the rainforest. Unlike Hansel and Gretel, there was no happy ending. They died after overdosing on Ayahuasca, and the locals hid their bodies to avoid trouble. After hearing that, I decided to pass on Ayahuasca.

Then there are the Medicine Men, identical twins Chris and Xand, who debate whether to treat sick children with Western medicine or leave them to the local shaman’s herbal remedies. The scene where they found a tapeworm in a piece of roasted monkey was particularly appetizing.

But something’s missing for me – where are the adventurous female TV travel presenters? I know women travelers are out there because I read their blogs. So why aren’t they on TV?

Here’s my vision for the next hit TV travel series: An intrepid woman explores unspoiled wildernesses, delves into the deepest rainforests, stays with nomadic desert peoples, and shares her stories from a woman’s perspective. No powerful motorbikes or other boys’ toys involved!

Or how about this scenario? A hip and gorgeous woman scours cities from Istanbul to Marrakech, Berlin to Beijing, finding the coolest, most secret spots with the help of local bloggers. By the way, I’m past thinking of myself as that hip and gorgeous woman, but I could always be her fixer.

What do you think? Any collaborators out there?