‘I failed my first driving test’

James May, co-host of Top Gear, talks about going into space and his top drives.

With auto show Top Gear’s latest season on air on BBC, co-host James May reveals, “During my first driving test, I did a wrong roundabout. I didn’t run into a bus stop but I missed a technicality.”

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May says that he never imagined having anything to do with cars and that his career panned out only by accident. “If I wasn’t doing this, I think I would have been a surgeon because I am quite analytical.” He adds that his interest in cars came from his father. “He worked in a factory and knew all about technical stuff.”

May recounts that going into space in the U-2 flight was a very rare privilege. “I am still slightly surprised that they allowed me to do it, but there you go; that was good.”

Among some of his favourite drives are the ones going across the desert in the Middle East, driving across America and through Botswana. “I like epic rides that remind me of the car’s beauty; you can get in and go somewhere very far and it will sort of sustain you through all that.” But unlike most people who love new cars, May says he prefers old knackered cars. “I have a great fondness for clapped out cars because they give you an adventure that you don’t really get in the new ones.”

Watch May on Top Gear every Wednesday 10 pm on BBC Entertainment