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Revision as of 16:44, 18 February 2013

For other people named James May, see James May (disambiguation).
James May
James May in 2006
Born
James Daniel May

(1963-01-16) 16 January 1963 (age 61)[1]
Bristol, England
Other namesCaptain Slow
EducationCaerleon Endowed Junior School
Oakwood Comprehensive School
Alma materPendle College, Lancaster University
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, journalist, author, pianist, media personality
Years active1998 (1998)–present (present)
Employer(s)BBC, The Daily Telegraph,
(prev. Channel 4 & ITV)
Known forPresenting:
Driven,
Top Gear,
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure,
Oz and James Drink to Britain,
James May's Top Toys,
James May's Toy Stories,
James May's 20th Century,
James May's Big Ideas,
James May's Man Lab
Websitehttp://www.topgear.com/uk/james-may

James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.

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. May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph's motoring section.

Early life

James May was born in Bristol, one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother.[2] May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church.[3] He was also at school with Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes star Dean Andrews.[4] A keen flautist and pianist, he studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University. 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.[5]

Journalism

During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank.[6] He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph.

He has written the book May On Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007.

Dismissal from Autocar

James May's hidden message

In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2,[7] May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together a hidden message or acrostic 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 as an initial). 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". 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.[citation needed]

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."[8] This was referenced by Jeremy Clarkson during Top Gear 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 on Channel 4 in 1998-99, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School,[9] and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show.[10] He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One) exploring the toys of his childhood.[11] James May: My Sister's Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal.[12] In series 3, episode 3[13] of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating animal penises and rotten shark (which Ramsay himself couldn't keep down)[14] and with his fish pie recipe.[15][16]

Top Gear

Main articles: Top Gear (1977 TV series) and Top Gear (2002 TV series)
BBC Top Gear presenting team of Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson, 2009

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 to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h) which is nearly one-third of the speed of sound at sea level and later on taking a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport edition to 260 mph (417 km/h).[17] In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron 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 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 claimed that he was busy selling fish at Morrisons. He is often mocked for a poor sense of direction, shown getting lost many times. He also became one of the first people – with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew – to travel by car to the magnetic North Pole, using a modified Toyota Hilux. 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 salt plains in Botswana.[18] He has driven a 1.3 litre Suzuki SJ413 through the Bolivian jungle and along Death Road and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile. He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux (also used as a crew car during the North Pole expedition) up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.

Science

2007

May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions.[19] He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction.[20]

James May on the Moon

Main articles: James May on the Moon and James May at the Edge of Space

James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the moon.[21] This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the edge of space (70,000 ft) in a U.S. Air Force Lockheed U-2 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.[22] This made him one of the highest flying persons, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station.[22]

James May's Toy Stories

Main article: 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, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey.[23] 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[24] 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.[25] Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track,[26] and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to stolen batteries and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit.[27]

In December 2012 aired a special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, where James and his Team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles from Devon to the island Lundy.[28]

Oz and James....

Main articles: Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure and Oz and James Drink to Britain

In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke.[29] A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country,[30] and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain.

Personal life

May lives in Hammersmith, West London with dance critic Sarah Frater, whom he has dated since 2000.[31][32] May received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Lancaster University on 15 July 2010.[33]

Vehicles

May has owned many cars: Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Jaguar XJS, Range Rover, Fiat Panda, Datsun 120Y, 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458, 1984 Porsche 911,[34] 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new),[35] Mini Cooper, Citroën Ami, Mazda MX-5, and several motorcycles 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, and motorcycles. He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting.[36] He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time".[37]

May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006 having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A 'Silvaire' and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with callname G-OCOK.[38]

Career

Television

Year Title Role
1999 Top Gear (original format) Presenter
2003–present Top Gear (current format) Presenter
2005 James May's Top Toys Presenter
2006-2007 Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure Presenter
2007 Top Gear of the Pops Presenter
2007 James May's 20th Century Presenter
2007 James May: My Sisters' Top Toys Presenter
2008 Top Ground Gear Force Presenter
2008 James May's Big Ideas Presenter
2009 Oz and James Drink to Britain Presenter
2009 James May on the Moon Presenter
2009 James May at the Edge of Space Presenter
2009/2011/2012 James May's Toy Stories Presenter
2010–present James May's Man Lab Presenter
2011–present James May's Things You Need To Know Presenter

DVD

Title Label Year
Oz & James' Big Wine Adventure: Series One Acorn Media 2006
James May's Motormania Car Quiz DMD 2006
James May's 20th Century: The Complete Series ITV 2007
Oz & James' Big Wine Adventure: Series Two Acorn Media 2008
James May's Big Ideas: The Complete Series DMD 2009
James May On The Moon BBC DVD 2009
James May's Amazing Brain Trainer DMD 2009
James May's Toy Stories: The Complete Series Channel 4 2009
Oz and James Drink to Britain Acorn Media 2009
Top Gear: Apocalypse BBC DVD 2010
James May's Man Lab: Series One Acorn Media 2011
Top Gear: At The Movies BBC DVD 2011
James May's Man Lab: Series Two Acorn Media 2012
Top Gear: Worst Car in the History of the World BBC DVD 2012

Books

Title Publisher Year Notes
May on Motors: On the Road with James May Virgin Books 2006 Reprinted 2007
Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure BBC Books 2006
Notes from the Hard Shoulder Virgin Books 2007
James May's 20th Century Hodder & Stoughton 2007 (H/B) Reprinted 2007 (P/B)
James May's Magnificent Machines Hodder & Stoughton 2008
Oz and James Drink to Britain Pavilion (Anova) 2009
James May's Car Fever Hodder & Stoughton 2009 (H/B) Reprinted 2010 (P/B)
James May's Toy Stories Conway (Anova) 2009
James May's Toy Stories: Lego House Conway (Anova) 2010
James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook Conway (Anova) 2010
James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook Conway (Anova) 2010
How to Land an A330 Airbus Hodder & Stoughton 2010 (H/B) Reprinted 2011 (P/B)
James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness Hodder & Stoughton 2011 (H/B) Reprinted 2012 (P/B)
James May: On Board Hodder & Stoughton 2012

References

  1. ^ Philby, Charlotte (27 September 2008). "My Secret Life: James May,TV presenter, age 45 - Profiles, People - The Independent". London: www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  2. ^ "I never liked dolls much, and neither did my brother" – "James May: My Sisters' Top Toys". 23 December 2007. BBC. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ James May (10 November 2007). "James May column: "Frocks make a boy a man"". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  4. ^ "Q&A with Dean Andrews feature - 2008". Top Gear. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  5. ^ Duerden, Nick (15 August 2009). "The mild one: How James May became the most in-demand presenter on British television". London: The Independent. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  6. ^ Michael Deacon (19 June 2009). "Interview: James May". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  7. ^ BBC Radio 2, broadcast 6 January 2006
  8. ^ "Captain Slow takes the fast lane - TV & Radio - Entertainment". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  9. ^ James May IMDb.com
  10. ^ "James May, Top Gear presenter, after-dinner speaker and awards host". Speakers Corner. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  11. ^ James May's Top Toys IMDb.com
  12. ^ "Two Programmes - James May: My Sister's Top Toys". BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  13. ^ "Season 3 Episode 3 - Gordon Ramsay's F Word - BBC America". www.bbcamerica.com. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  14. ^ "GORD WON'T SCOFF THAT, WILLY? - The Daily Record". www.dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  15. ^ [1] "The worst ever would have to be James May, with his fish pie. Even though he won, which was extraordinary. He was drinking a bottle of red wine throughout the challenge, so I thought it was in the bag."
  16. ^ [2] "This recipe is Gordon's version of a posh fish pie originally made by James May."
  17. ^ "James in the Bugatti Veyron SuperSport - BBC Top Gear". Topgear.com. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  18. ^ "Top Gear's James May tells BBC Trust to 'sod off' after show is rapped for 'glamorising drink-driving' | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  19. ^ "BBC/OU Open2.net - James May's 20th Century". Open2.net. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  20. ^ "BBC/OU Open2.net - James May's Big Ideas". Open2.net. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  21. ^ James May on the Moon
  22. ^ a b James May at the Edge of Space
  23. ^ "UK | England | Surrey | May starts building Lego house". BBC News. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  24. ^ Radio Times 24–30 October 2009
  25. ^ "Entertainment | James May's Lego house demolished". BBC News. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  26. ^ May to attempt Scalextric record, BBC News, 7 August 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2009
  27. ^ "James May's model railway record bid derailed by vandal attack | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  28. ^ "BBC Two James May's Toy Stories: Flight Club". BBC. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  29. ^ "Food - TV and radio - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  30. ^ "Food - TV and Radio". BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  31. ^ "Transmission – BBC Top Gear Video: behind-the-scenes at the first of the new series «". Transmission.blogs.topgear.com. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  32. ^ Lewis, Simon (13 June 2009). "Jeremy Clarkson? Politicians? Aston Martins? Don't get Top Gear's James May started..." London: The Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  33. ^ "Honorary Degrees 2010". Lancaster University. March 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  34. ^ "1984 Porsche 911 in "James May's Toy Stories, 2009"". IMCDb.org. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  35. ^ May, James (22 October 2005). "As seen on TV: Porsche breaks the spell of perfection". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  36. ^ "Mine's a pint: a preposterous excuse for a Porsche". London: Daily Telegraph. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2009. James May with his Brompton bike
  37. ^ "Dave: What's on Dave: James May interview". Uktv.co.uk. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  38. ^ http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-OCOK.html
Preceded by Guild of Motoring Writers
Journalist of the Year Award
2000 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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