James May on Britain's colonial past: "It'd look odd if you avoided it"

In this series, James's task is to fully immerse himself within the Indian culture through meeting the locals, eating the food and trying everything he possibly can - from acting in a TV programme to the art of kite flying.

Along the way, he is helped by knowledgeable guides, and in the first episode he is joined by Aditi Mittal, a stand-up comedian, who was sure to mention Britain's colonial ties with India to James as he explored alongside her.

"I think, because it's been such a hot topic for such a long time, people expect it to at least be acknowledged," James May told RadioTimes.com.

"It would look odd if you studiously avoided it, because it's obviously a significant bit of the history and of the relationship between Britain and India, still."

However, when asked if it was important to have those conversations mentioned, he explained that he didn't plan to create a show that specifically dived into the topic.

"That's an awkward question, because then we just bore everybody, and I'm not convinced people, either our viewers or the Indians, are that bothered anymore. But, of course, Aditi brings it up, because she likes to bait me with it."

As James explores the megacities in India throughout the season, he noted that many people who have never been to India have a preconceived notion that it is "a sort of managed chaos", but he doesn't agree.

He told RadioTimes.com: "I don't think it's true that India is chaotic, not in the sense that we mean actually disorganised. It's just, it's intense. But it works.

"So I found that rather reassuring, because it was one of those prejudices you don't want to have confirmed. You want to have it demolished - and it works."

Over the three episodes, James will navigate his way through "a modern, 21st century superpower underpinned by 10,000 years of its own unique culture", and when asked if he has anywhere else on his Our Man in... bucket list, there were a few places he has in mind.

"I honestly believe if we approach it in the right way, we can make anywhere interesting - because all countries are interesting.

"So, I mean, I think we could even do Britain. If anybody lets us. I'm sure it would be quite interesting.

"I also think we could do something good on Scandinavia. We've sketched that out. We've sketched out places like the Caribbean, various bits of the US. We could do Australia, but it's very big. I think, I honestly think we could go anywhere!"

James May: Our Man in India launches globally on Prime Video on Friday 5th January 2024.

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