James May
Encyclopedia
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...

 and Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...

.

On Top Gear, May has the nickname "Captain Slow", for his careful driving style, a love of small, underpowered cars and habit of getting lost and distracted while driving. However, in a July 2010 episode of Top Gear he drove a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...

, reaching a speed of 417.6 kilometres per hour (259.5 mph).

May has presented a variety of other programmes on themes including science and technology, childhood toys, cars, food and drink, and the plight of manliness in modern times. In addition he has released a variety of DVDs and books with similar themes, and wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

's
motoring section.

Early life

James May was born in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother.
In his early years, May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School
Caerleon Endowed Junior School
Caerleon Endowed Junior School is an endowed school situated in Caerleon on the outskirts of the city of Newport, Wales. The school boasts an excellent reputation locally, not only for the academic results of its pupils, but also in sport....

 in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

 where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School
Oakwood Technology College
Oakwood Technology College is a secondary school in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on Moorgate Road, almost in the centre of Rotherham, and receives children from a number of primary schools throughout Rotherham....

 in Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...

 and was a choirboy at Whiston
Whiston, South Yorkshire
Whiston is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 5,115.Originally a small rural village between Sheffield and Rotherham, within the Saxon "Shire of Hallun" , Whiston is now a suburb of Rotherham, close to its border...

 Parish Church. He was also at school with Life On Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....

and Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...

star Dean Andrews
Dean Andrews
Dean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars...

. A keen flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...

 and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, he later studied music at Pendle College
Pendle College
Pendle College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Lancaster. Founded in 1974, the college is named after the Pendle region of the east of Lancashire, which is dominated by Pendle Hill. The term "Pendle" is associated with a great deal of fantasy and legend...

, Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...

. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, and had a short stint in Her Majesty's Civil Service.

Personal life

May lives in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...

, London with dance critic Sarah Frater, whom he has dated since 2000.

May has owned a number of cars:
Bentley T2
Bentley T-series
The Bentley T-Series is an automobile which was produced by Bentley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1965 to 1980. It was announced and displayed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show on 5 October 1965 as a Bentley-badged version of the totally-redesigned chassis-less Rolls-Royce...

, Triumph 2000
Triumph 2000
The Triumph 2000 is a mid-sized, rear wheel drive automobile which was produced in Coventry by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. Larger-engined models, known as the Triumph 2.5 PI and Triumph 2500 were also produced.-Engine:...

, Rover P6
Rover P6
The first P6 used a 2.0 L engine designed specifically for the P6. Although it was announced towards the end of 1963, the car had been in "pilot production" since the beginning of the year, therefore deliveries were able to begin immediately. Original output was in the order of . At the...

, Alfa Romeo 164
Alfa Romeo 164
The Alfa Romeo 164 is an executive car with saloon body, produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 1987 to 1998.The 164 was re-badged as the 168 for the Hong Kong and Malaysian markets, as the number "164" had a very negative connotation , and "168" has quite the opposite The Alfa Romeo 164...

, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche
Rolls-Royce Corniche
The Corniche was Rolls-Royce's coupé and convertible version of the Silver Shadow produced between 1971 and 1996. The Corniche was named "Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward two door fixed head coupé " from 1966 until 1971 when the Corniche name was applied. The exterior design was by John Polwhele...

, Jaguar XJS
Jaguar XJS
The Jaguar XJ-S is a luxury grand tourer produced by the British manufacturer Jaguar from 1975 to 1996. The XJ-S replaced the E-Type in September 1975, and was based on the XJ saloon. It had been developed as the XK-F, though it was very different in character from its predecessor...

,
Range Rover
Range Rover
The Range Rover is a large luxury four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by British car maker Land Rover. The model, launched in 1970, is now in its third generation...

, Fiat Panda
Fiat Panda
The Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was introduced in 1980, and was produced until 2003 with only a few changes. It is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda". The second model, launched in 2003, is sometimes referred to "New Panda"...

, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, Ferrari F430
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 is a sports car that was produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari from 2004 to 2009, as a successor to the 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show...

, 1984 Porsche 911
Porsche 911 classic
The original Porsche 911 was a sports car made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. The famous, distinctive, and durable design was introduced in autumn 1963 and built until 1989...

, 2005 Porsche Boxster S
Porsche Boxster
The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The Boxster is Porsche's first road vehicle to be originally designed as a roadster since the 550 Spyder....

 (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new), Mini Cooper, Citroën Ami
Citroën Ami
The Citroën Ami is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1961 to 1978. The Ami and stablemate Citroën Dyane were replaced by the Citroën Visa and Citroën Axel . The Ami was for some years the best-selling car model in France...

, Mazda MX-5
Mazda MX-5
The MX-5, also known as Miata in North America and Eunos Roadster in Japan, is a lightweight two-seater roadster, of front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show...

 and several classic motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s including a Yamaha XJR1300, Moto Guzzi V11 Sport, a Triumph Daytona 675R and a 1978 Guzzi California. He has a penchant for prestige cars like Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, simple and basic cars such as the Fiat Panda
Fiat Panda
The Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was introduced in 1980, and was produced until 2003 with only a few changes. It is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda". The second model, launched in 2003, is sometimes referred to "New Panda"...

, and motorcycles. He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle
Brompton Bicycle
Brompton Bicycle is a manufacturer of folding bicycles based in Brentford, London.The Brompton folding bicycle and accessories are the company's core product, noted for its self-supporting compact size when stored. All available models of the folding bicycle are based on the same hinged bicycle...

 for commuting. He also briefly owned a Dacia Sandero on Top Gear:Romanian Tour. It was purchased second-hand by Jeremy Clarkson as a present. It was destroyed minutes later by a reversing lorry. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time".

May obtained a light aircraft
Light aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross take-off weight of or less.Many aircraft used commercially for freight, sightseeing, photography and scheduled flights are light aircraft.Examples of light aircraft include:...

 pilot's licence in October 2006 having trained at White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield , is located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England...

. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire' and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon.

May received an honorary Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...

 degree from Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...

 on 15 July 2010.

Journalism

During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer
The Engineer (magazine)
The Engineer is a London-based fortnightly magazine covering the latest developments and business news in engineering and technology in the UK and internationally...

and later Autocar
Autocar
Autocar is a weekly British automobile magazine published by Haymarket Motoring Publications Ltd. It refers to itself as "The World's oldest car magazine".-History:...

magazine, from which he was dismissed. He has since written for several publications, including a regular column called England Made Me in Car Magazine
Car Magazine
Car Magazine is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Automotive. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Brazil, China, Greece, India, Mexico, the Middle East, Poland , Romania, Russia, South Africa , Spain, Thailand and Turkey...

, articles for Top Gear
Top Gear (magazine)
Top Gear is an automobile magazine published by BBC Worldwide, and named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly at a price of £3.95. The major presenters of the television series—Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson—are...

magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

.

He has written a book titled May On Motors, which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure is a BBC television programme of which two series have been broadcast. It is presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May , with Clarke aiming to educate May about wine while undertaking a road trip. The first season focused on France and...

, based on the TV series of the same name.

He has also written the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright
L. J. K. Setright
Leonard John Kensell Setright was an English motoring journalist and author.Born of Australian parents in London, his father Henry Roy Setright, was an engineer who invented the Setright ticket machine used on buses and trams. Setright studied Law at the University of London and practised for a...

. In the same month he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter
Raymond Baxter
Raymond Frederic Baxter, OBE was a British television presenter and writer. He is best known for being the first presenter of Tomorrow's World, continuing for 12 years, from 1965 to 1977...

. His book, Notes From The Hard Shoulder, was published on 26 April 2007. James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, was published on 6 September 2007.

Dismissal from Autocar

In an interview with Richard Allinson
Richard Allinson
Richard John McNeill Allinson is a British broadcaster. He started his broadcasting with a 3-year stint at Bailrigg FM, known at that time as University Radio Bailrigg ,whilst undertaking college courses at Lancaster University Management School. He was firstly Treasurer and then became President...

 on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

, May confessed that he was fired in 1992 from Autocar
Autocar
Autocar is a weekly British automobile magazine published by Haymarket Motoring Publications Ltd. It refers to itself as "The World's oldest car magazine".-History:...

magazine after putting together a hidden message or acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...

 in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Year Book" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...

 as an initial
Initial
In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a work, a chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is derived from the Latin initialis, which means standing at the beginning...

). May's role was to put the entire supplement together, which "was extremely boring and took several months". He went on to say:
So I had this idea that if I re-edited the beginnings of all the little texts, I could make these red letters spell out a message through the magazine, which I thought was brilliant. I can't remember exactly what it said, but it was to the effect that "You might think this is a really great thing, but if you were sitting here making it up you'd realise it's a real pain in the arse
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...

". It took me about two months to do it and on the day that it came out I'd actually forgotten that I'd done it because there's a bit of a gap between it being "put to bed" and coming out on the shelves. When I arrived at work that morning everybody was looking at their shoes and I was summoned to the managing director of the company's office. The thing had come out and nobody at work had spotted what I'd done because I'd made the words work around the pages so you never saw a whole word. But all the readers had seen it and they'd written in thinking they'd won a prize or a car or something.


May's original message, punctuated appropriately, reads: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse."

This was referenced by Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...

 during episode 2 of series 17 (in the course of the "hot hatch"-challenge in Italy) when May was noting Autocar's opinion on the Renault Clio Cup he had chosen for the challenge, to which Clarkson replied "Autocar.... The magazine that sacked you...?"

Radio and television

His past television credits include presenting Driven
Driven (TV)
driven was a motoring television programme launched by Channel 4 in 1998 as a rival to the successful and long-running BBC series Top Gear....

on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 in 1998-99, narrating an eight-part BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 series called Road Rage School, and co-hosting the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show
London Boat Show
The London Boat Show is held each January at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London, just opposite the O2 and the centre of London's business and entertainment centre. It is a very large event, now in its 54th year, which uses ExCeL's two 32,500 square metre halls...

.
He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys
James May's Top Toys
James May's Top Toys is a BBC documentary in which James May explored and celebrated his favourite toys, including Etch-A-Sketch, Airfix model aeroplanes, Lego, Meccano, Top Trumps, Scalextric, model cars, and Hornby model trains....

(for BBC One) exploring the toys of his childhood. This list was followed up the next year by a sequel of sorts, broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

, entitled James May: My Sister's Top Toys
James May: My Sister's Top Toys
James May: My Sisters' Top Toys is a British television documentary. Presented by James May, it was first broadcast on 23 December 2007 on BBC Two...

, this time attempting to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....

's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating animal penises and rotten shark (which Ramsay himself couldn't keep down) and with his fish pie
Fish pie
Fish pie is a traditional British dish. The pie is usually made with white fish in a white or béchamel sauce made using the milk the fish was poached in. Prawns and hard boiled eggs are other common additional ingredients...

 recipe.

Top Gear

May first co-presented Top Gear in 1999, before it was axed by the BBC because of poor viewing figures. He rejoined the show in the second series of the present Top Gear format in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving, including in Top Gear Series 9, taking a Bugatti Veyron
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...

 to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h) which is nearly one-third of the speed of sound
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....

 at sea level and later on taking a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport edition to 259 mph (417 km/h). In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...

 against the new Pagani Zonda F. On the show he claimed that it was 'a piece of cake' driving those cars, but seconds later Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...

 played a tape showing him spinning wildly over the test track in the Zonda. Originally he did not want to do this test, but Clarkson had hurt his neck in the previous episode while driving a truck through a brick wall and Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...

 claimed that he was busy selling fish at Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...

. He is often mocked for a poor sense of direction, shown getting lost many times throughout the course of the series, including race tracks and even being mocked once by Jeremy and Hammond for mistaking a normal Range Rover
Range Rover
The Range Rover is a large luxury four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by British car maker Land Rover. The model, launched in 1970, is now in its third generation...

 as the camera crew. He also flew in a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...

 at a speed of around 1320 mph for his television programme, James May's 20th Century
James May's 20th Century
James May's 20th Century is a television series first aired on 10 July 2007 on the British terrestrial channel BBC Two. The series is a co-production by the BBC and the Open University....

. He also became one of the first people – with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...

 and an Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic support crew – to travel by car to the magnetic North Pole, using a modified Toyota Hilux
Toyota Hilux
The Toyota Hilux is a series of compact pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Most countries used the Hilux name for the entire life of the series but in North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck, Pickup Truck, or Compact Truck...

. He claims to be the first person on the north pole who didn't want to go there. He was also one of the first people to drive across the Makgadikgadi
Makgadikgadi Pan
The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna of northeastern Botswana. It is one of the largest salt flats in the world...

 salt plains in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

. He has driven a 1.3 litre Suzuki SJ413 through the Bolivian jungle and along Death Road
Yungas Road
The North Yungas Road is a or road leading from La Paz to Coroico, northeast of La Paz in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road"...

 and over the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux
Toyota Hilux
The Toyota Hilux is a series of compact pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Most countries used the Hilux name for the entire life of the series but in North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck, Pickup Truck, or Compact Truck...

 (also used as a crew car during the North Pole expedition) up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, situated to the north of Skógar and to the west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period, most recently in...

 in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

Science

May has also presented a documentary for Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

 about sharks called Inside Killer Sharks and a series looking at inventions and discoveries during the twentieth century, entitled James May's 20th Century
James May's 20th Century
James May's 20th Century is a television series first aired on 10 July 2007 on the British terrestrial channel BBC Two. The series is a co-production by the BBC and the Open University....

. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas
James May's Big Ideas
James May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas...

, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

.

James May on the Moon

In June 2009 May presented a documentary on BBC Two called James May on the Moon
James May on the Moon
James May on the Moon is a British documentary in which James May commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings. It was first aired on BBC Two on 21 June 2009 and on 10 November 2009 on BBC America in the United States....

commemorating 40 years since man first landed on the moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....

 called James May at the Edge of Space
James May at the Edge of Space
James May at the Edge of Space is a British documentary in which television presenter James May came close to fulfilling his lifelong dream to be an astronaut by flying to the edge of space in a Lockheed U-2 spy plane...

, where May was flown to the edge of space (70,000 ft) in a U.S. Air Force Lockheed U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying persons, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

.

James May's Toy Stories

Beginning in October 2009, May presented a 6-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern day. The toys featured were Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....

, Plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...

, Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....

, Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...

, Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 and Hornby
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...

. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. For example, in August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 at Denbies Wine Estate
Denbies Wine Estate
Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking, Surrey has the largest vineyard in England with under vines, representing over 10% of the plantings in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has a visitors' centre which attracts around 300,000 visitors a year....

 in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high and despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

 using Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...

 track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail
Tarka Trail
The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It is a figure-of-eight route, based on Barnstaple, and covers some of path....

 between Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...

 and Bideford
Bideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...

 in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. The running order was:
Episode number Featured toy Feat accomplished
One Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....

 
Building a 1:1 scale Spitfire model in the plastic injection moulding style of Airfix
Two Plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...

 
Making a garden entirely from plasticine and submitting it to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Three Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....

 
Building a bridge crossing Liverpool's revamped Pier Head canal
Four Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...

 
Creating a life-size representation of the Brooklands racetrack entirely in Scalextric
Five Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

 
Constructing a life-size house made entirely from Lego bricks
Six Hornby
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...

 
Creating the world's longest OO gauge
OO gauge
OO gauge or OO scale model railways are the most popular standard-gauge model railway tracks in the U.K. This track gauge is one of several 4mm-scale standards used, but it is the only one to be served by the major manufacturers...

 train set from Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...

 to Bideford
Bideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...

, a distance of around 10 miles.
2011 Special Great Train Race Re-attempt of the OO gauge-challenge between Barnstaple and Bideford, racing against a German team from Miniatur Wunderland
Miniatur Wunderland
Miniatur Wunderland is a model railway attraction in Hamburg, Germany and the largest of its kind in the world. , the railway consists of of track in HO scale, divided into seven sections: Harz, the fictitious city of Knuffingen, the Alps and Austria, Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, and Switzerland...


Drink

In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure is a BBC television programme of which two series have been broadcast. It is presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May , with Clarke aiming to educate May about wine while undertaking a road trip. The first season focused on France and...

, a series in which May, a committed bitter
Bitter (beer)
Bitter is an English term for pale ale. Bitters vary in colour from gold to dark amber and in strength from 3% to 7% alcohol by volume.-Brief history:...

 drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke
Oz Clarke
Robert "Oz" Clarke is a British wine writer, television presenter and broadcaster.-Biography:Clarke’s parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He was brought up near Canterbury with a brother and a sister. Clarke became a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and subsequently won a choral...

. A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain
Oz and James Drink to Britain
Oz and James Drink to Britain is a BBC television series in which wine writer Oz Clarke and motor journalist James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the array of available alcoholic drinks...

.
Programme Notes
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure is a BBC television programme of which two series have been broadcast. It is presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May , with Clarke aiming to educate May about wine while undertaking a road trip. The first season focused on France and...

Book released (October 2006), DVD released (2007)
Oz and James Drink to Britain
Oz and James Drink to Britain
Oz and James Drink to Britain is a BBC television series in which wine writer Oz Clarke and motor journalist James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the array of available alcoholic drinks...

Book released (January 2009), DVD released (2009)

Television

Year Title Role
1999 Top Gear (original format) Presenter
2003 Top Gear (current format) Presenter
2005 James May's Top Toys
James May's Top Toys
James May's Top Toys is a BBC documentary in which James May explored and celebrated his favourite toys, including Etch-A-Sketch, Airfix model aeroplanes, Lego, Meccano, Top Trumps, Scalextric, model cars, and Hornby model trains....

Presenter
2006 Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure is a BBC television programme of which two series have been broadcast. It is presented by wine expert Oz Clarke and motoring journalist James May , with Clarke aiming to educate May about wine while undertaking a road trip. The first season focused on France and...

Presenter
2006 Inside Killer Sharks Presenter
2006 Petrolheads
Petrolheads
Petrolheads is a BBC panel game presented by Neil Morrissey, with team captains Richard Hammond and Chris Barrie. The show pitted motoring wits against each other and included car stunts shot on location. There were two guests each episode. The show was produced by Brian Klein , directed by John...

Guest
2007 Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops was a one-off special of Top Gear, broadcast in the evening on 16 March 2007. It was shown as part of the Comic Relief 2007 appeal, mixing the usual elements of Top Gear with Top of the Pops, the music chart show that was cancelled in 2006...

Presenter
2007 James May's 20th Century
James May's 20th Century
James May's 20th Century is a television series first aired on 10 July 2007 on the British terrestrial channel BBC Two. The series is a co-production by the BBC and the Open University....

Presenter
2007 James May: My Sisters' Top Toys Presenter
2008 Top Ground Gear Force
Top Ground Gear Force
Top Ground Gear Force is a one off TV special, featuring the cast of BBC's Top Gear, which originally aired on BBC Two at 22:00GMT on March 14, 2008 as part of Sport Relief 2008. It was repeated on Easter Monday, 2008...

Presenter
2008 James May's Big Ideas
James May's Big Ideas
James May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas...

Presenter
2009 Oz and James Drink to Britain
Oz and James Drink to Britain
Oz and James Drink to Britain is a BBC television series in which wine writer Oz Clarke and motor journalist James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the array of available alcoholic drinks...

Presenter
2009 James May on the Moon
James May on the Moon
James May on the Moon is a British documentary in which James May commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings. It was first aired on BBC Two on 21 June 2009 and on 10 November 2009 on BBC America in the United States....

Presenter
2009 James May at the Edge of Space
James May at the Edge of Space
James May at the Edge of Space is a British documentary in which television presenter James May came close to fulfilling his lifelong dream to be an astronaut by flying to the edge of space in a Lockheed U-2 spy plane...

Presenter
2009 James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories is a television series presented by James May. The series was commissioned for BBC Two from Plum Pictures. The first episode, "Airfix", was shown on BBC Two at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 27 October 2009....

Presenter
2010 James May's Man Lab
James May's Man Lab
James May's Man Lab is a British television series presented by James May. The first three part series was aired on BBC Two between 31 October and 14 November 2010...

Presenter
2011 James May's Things You Need To Know Presenter
2011 James May's Man Lab
James May's Man Lab
James May's Man Lab is a British television series presented by James May. The first three part series was aired on BBC Two between 31 October and 14 November 2010...

Presenter

DVD

Title Label Year
James May's Motormania Car Quiz DMD 2006
James May's 20th Century ITV 2007
James May's Big Ideas DMD 2009
James May's Moon Adventures BBC 2009
James May's Amazing Brain Trainer DMD 2009
James May's Toy Stories BBC 2009
Oz and James Big Wine Adventure: Series One BBC 2006
Oz and James Big Wine Adventure: Series Two BBC 2008
Oz and James Drink to Britain: Series Three BBC 2009
Top Gear Apocalypse BBC 2010
Top Gear At The Movies BBC 2011




As The DVD Contains Both "On The Moon" and "The Edge Of Space", The Classification Name Is "Moon Adventures" or "James May On The Moon".

Books

Title Publisher Year
May on Motors: On the Road with James May Virgin Books 2006
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure BBC Books 2006
May on Motors Virgin Books 2007
Notes from the Hard Shoulder Virgin Books 2007
James May's 20th Century Hodder & Stoughton 2007
James May's Magnificent Machines Hodder & Stoughton 2008
Oz and James Drink to Britain Pavilion (Anova) 2009
James May's Car Fever (H/B) Hodder & Stoughton 2009
James May's Car Fever (P/B) Hodder & Stoughton 2009
James May's Toy Stories Conway (Anova) 2009
James May's Car Fever: Volume 2 Hodder & Stoughton 2010
How to Land an A330 Airbus Hodder & Stoughton 2010
James May's Man Lab Hodder & Stoughton 2011

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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