James May announces brand new venture after ‘miserable’ TV bosses axed his travel show
JAMES May has revealed his latest venture – following ‘miserable’ bosses axing his Prime Video travel show.
Aside from his TV work, the star sells batches of his own gin to online customers in over 40 countries.
He is now launching a brand new flavour – California Dreamgin’.
Made with mushrooms and patchouli, it’s the first of James’ creations to be officially certified vegan.
Inspiration came from the Golden State’s sunny climate and laid-back lifestyle.
The Grand Tour alum’s existing gin range includes Asian Parsnip, American Mustard and London Drizzle.
James said: “This gin is a bit of thank you – it celebrates California’s role in the establishment of the hippie movement while allowing us to create a very clever joke out of nothing more than an apostrophe.”
To bring his vision for California Dreamgin’ to life, James worked with Hugh Anderson at Downtown Distillery.
He first created gin for fun and to stand on the back bar of his co-owned pub in Wiltshire.
However, the star’s batches proved popular and consistently sell out online.
As James’ latest gin venture begins, one of his television shows recently ended.
Last month, the star revealed travel show Our Man In would be concluding after three series.
Discussing the news, he said: “Well, they just didn’t want it anymore, miserable b*****ds.”
The first two series saw the petrol-head respectively visit Japan and Italy.
In the third and final outing – which debuted earlier this year – James turned his attention to India.
James May's career to date
TV presenter and journalist James May has enjoyed a long on-screen career, with a main focus on motoring. Here is a look at some of his biggest projects.
- Top Gear (1999): James was a briefly a host on the original 1977 to 2001 iteration of the popular motoring show. The likes of Angela Rippon, Andy Wilman, Noel Edmonds, Kate Humble and Jeremy Clarkson were also presenters at various points.
- Top Gear (Revived series, 2003-2015): After Jason Dawe departed following series one of the revival, James boarded the revived Top Gear in 2003. He starred alongside Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and The Stig until 2015, when the main trio left the programme.
- Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure (2006-2007): This show featured wine expert Oz Clarke attempting to educate James about wine while undertaking a road trip. The programme lasted two series. A sequel titled Oz and James Drink to Britain aired in 2009.
- James May’s Toy Stories (2009 to 2014): This programme featured well-known toys from the past being brought into the modern era through a complex, large-scale project involving the nature of the toy. James created, co-wrote, presented and narrated the show.
- The Grand Tour (2016 to 2024): Conceived following James and his co-stars leaving Top Gear, The Grand Tour launched on Amazon Prime Video in 2016. The trio were joined by producer Andy Wilman, who also made the move.
- James May: Our Man in… (2020-present): A travel documentary series for Amazon Prime Video, which has seen James visit Japan, Italy and India so far.
- James May: Oh Cook! (2020 – present): As the title suggests, this is a cooking programme hosted by James and it is released via Amazon Prime Video. The programme features the presenter trying to cook a variety of different dishes, with each episode focusing on a cuisine.
Additionally, James bid farewell to another popular, longtime project earlier this year.
He, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond wrapped up their time on The Grand Tour.
They began working together on BBC‘s Top Gear in the early 2000s.
Speaking to GB News about The Grand Tour concluding, James said: “I won’t really miss the stress of it because I’m old now and a bit frail compared with back then [when we started].”