gearing up
James May lands brand new gig in Australia – and it’s worlds away from Top Gear and The Grand Tour
It comes ahead of his on-screen reunion with Richard Hammond
JAMES May has landed himself a brand new gig in Australia and it's nothing to do with Top Gear or The Grand Tour.
The popular TV star will be switching the screen for the stage as he heads Down Under.
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James will be fronting a brand new stage tour around Australia, New Zealand and Singapore titled Explorers - The Age of Discovery.
As part of his new venture, James looks set to bring to life "the stories of the extraordinary explorers who traversed the deserts, scaled the mountains, sailed into the unknown".
The tour will kick off on the other side of the globe this July with dates expected to follow in the UK this autumn.
Confirming his tour on Instagram, James said: "I'm going live, in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore with my new Explorers show. Everything from hunter-gatherers to astronauts, plus me, speaking."
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A further description of the shows from its makers read: "The live show combines theatrical techniques and James' charismatic storytelling to create an evening of compelling intellectual entertainment.
"From Ice Age migrations to space travel, the stories of famous, infamous and unknown explorers will come to life in a theatric style."
News of the shows come as James prepares to reunite on-screen with Richard Hammond for a series of Prime Video specials.
Although The Grand Tour came to a close last year, a series of reunion episodes are already ready to hit screens just eight months on.
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Next month, Prime Video will broadcast the one-off special, The Not Very Grand Tour.
The programme has been created by director Phil Churchward, who worked on both Top Gear and The Grand Tour.
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It is understood that the episode will be a look-back at nostalgic clips from the show's run with brand new commentary from both Richard and James.
Jeremy will only feature in archive footage and has not recorded any new scenes for the episode.
The episode will become available for streaming on Friday 18 April.
An episode synopsis teases: "In this episode, the team celebrate the combustion engine, with a look back at footage from past adventures and test drives."
The Grand Tour episode guide
How many seasons of The Grand Tour are there and where do they take place?
The Grand Tour launched on Prime Video in 2016 and quickly became one of the streamer’s biggest hits as hosts Jeremy, 63, James, 60, and Richard, 52, felt it was time they move on from Top Gear hit the road.
They have now brought five epic series of motoring adventures to the small screen, each taking place in different locations and even featuring celebrity guests.
Series 1
- Series 1 aired from 2016 to 2017 and took the presenters to a number of foreign locales, including Jordan, Morocco and Italy.
- The series is comprised of 13 episodes, with episodes 7 and 8 making up a two-part special set in Namibia, where the trio embarked on an epic beach buggy challenge.
Series 2
- Jeremy, Richard and James returned for more motoring actor in series 2, and drove their way across Europe as they tested out some of their dream vehicles like the Bugatti Chiron and the McLaren 720S.
- This series, which aired from 2017 to 2018, is made up of 11 episodes. It features regular 'studio segments' filmed in the team's permanent tent in the Cotswolds, and had regular participation from celebrities with two guests going head-to-head on timed laps every episode.
Series 3
- In 2019, the presenting trio crossed continents - from North America, to South America, to Europe and Asia - putting both new vehicles and classic sports cars through their paces.
- This series was the last to feature the regular studio segments, car reviews and timed laps.
- To mark the end of this era the final episode's last segment includes a montage of scenes featuring the presenters over the course of their career as a trio, not only from this programme, but also from their time hosting Top Gear.
Series 4
- This series marked a complete change in format for The Grand Tour as it consists entirely for feature-length specials which aired between 2019 and 2021.
- The first two chronicle Jeremy, Richard and James' epic adventures across Asia and Africa, while the third and fourth episodes saw them put foreign cars to the test on their home turf. And fitting American vehicles through Scottish roads is no easy feat.
Series 5
- Following the same format as series 4, the fifth and final series of The Grand Tour also consists of four feature-length specials.
- The first of these hits screens in 2022 and follows the trio as they travelled through Norway, Sweden and Finland in three Rally-Inspired Sports Saloons.
- The second episode was another Euro adventure while the third took the presenters back to Africa.
- The fourth instalment of the series and final ever episode of The Grand Tour, titled One for the Road, premieres on September 13, 2024. It promises to be an emotional one as the trio set out on one epic final adventure in Zimbabwe and reflect on their 22-year-long working relationship and friendship.
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