The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour And Top Gear Was Not James May’s Dream Job, He Admits

A recent interview with FoodTribe has revealed that The Grand Tour and Top Gear was not a dream job for presenter James May. It came a close second only to one show that was cancelled over ten years ago and isn’t being rekindled.

James May’s dream job was in fact his travels alongside Oz Clarke while the two presented the show, Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure. It saw them travel across the globe on the hunt for good food and even better drink, which May admits to Lucy of FoodTribe, was the dream job of his.

“It was actually the production company who came up with the idea,” he began. “And they simply approached me and they said, ‘have you heard of Oz Clarke, would you like to do this show about wine?’.

But May admits that he had to make some changes before they started.

“And they didn’t really get the idea quite right. They had it that Oz was a sophisticate and I was a yobbo and that Oz would be listening to opera – Oz is into opera as it happens – but then I would keep commandeering the music, CD player in those days, and put on a lot of death metal.

“And I said, ‘well, that’s not true,’ so you’ll just have to leave us alone as it happens, which they did. It’s the best job I’ve ever had actually because all I had to do is drink beer and wine and make fatuous comments as a way to spur Oz the expert into telling us everything that was important.”

He admits that when people tell him he’s got the dream job in the world, driving cars and travelling for The Grand Tour, he doesn’t believe it is, albeit a close second.

“No, that’s the second-best job in the world, the best job in the world was travelling around Europe and America with Oz Clarke – the drinks were always perfect!” he joked. “Because he’s an expert!”

Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure finished after only three series in 2009. It was a popular TV show for those who loved James May, but was never a complete success like May’s current shows under Amazon Prime Video.

During the interview, he’s asked by Lucy if he’d do another one.

“Oh yeah, they didn’t want anymore, though.”

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