Back in 2000, riding high on the success of their 1990s ‘new lad’ sitcom Men Behaving Badly, Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey teamed up for a trip around Australia in the TV travelogue Men Down Under.
A quarter of a century later, now both in their early 60s, the two old friends are reuniting for a road trip across France, where Neil has a second home.
Here's everything we know about three-part travel series Neil and Martin's Bon Voyage...
Neil and Martin's Bon Voyage release date
Neil and Martin's Bon Voyage will air on U&Gold from Tuesday, March 25 at 9pm
What is Neil and Martin's Bon Voyage about?
Neil and Martin’s Bon Voyage sees Neil Morrissey take his dear friend Martin Clunes on a bespoke road trip through Southern France, a place Neil now calls his second home, to celebrate 40 years of their friendship.
Neil and Martin, who catapulted to fame together by starring in the 90s television sitcom Men Behaving Badly, don’t see each other nearly as much as they would like to these days. So, Neil has cooked up a smart idea to change all that by inviting his friend to join him on an adventure through some of southern France’s most beautiful regions.
Across the three-part series, the duo canoe down the Dordogne River, descend deep into magnificent underground caves, and go cycling through the vineyards of Bordeaux, naturally sampling a drop or two of fine wine along the way.
In Biarritz, they fish for tuna off the coast and participate in the bizarre world of the “corn Olympics” before scaling the dizzying heights of the Pyrenees.
In Camargue, they ride horses across the marshy salt flats before stopping off in Toulouse for some Michelin-starred dining.
But the question on everyone’s lips will be: have these (slightly older) men grown up at all over the years, or will they still be behaving just as badly?
Neil and Martin's Bon Voyage itinerary
EPISODE ONE
In the first episode, the boys reunite at Neil’s French home, before heading to one of France’s deepest wine cellars along the Dordogne River and on to the vineyards of Bordeaux, ending their day atop Europe’s largest sand dune.
EPISODE 2
In the second episode, Neil and Martin head out to fish for their supper off the coast of Biarritz, and participate in an eccentric “festival of corn” before heading for the peaks of the Pyrenees where they hit some unexpected weather.
EPISODE 3
On the final leg of their journey, Neil and Martin ride the famous white horses of the Carmague across the sweeping salt flats, try their hand at painting like Van Gogh in the pretty town of Arles, dine in one of Toulouse’s finest restaurants, before heading back to Neil’s farmhouse for a raucous homecoming party.
Is there a trailer for Neil and Martin’s Bon Voyage?
Yes, you can see from the trailer the sort of adventures that Neil and Martin will be getting up to in France as they try new hobbies and just generally enjoy spending time in each other's company.
You can watch below...
Neil Morrissey and Martin Clunes interview about travelogue Neil and Martin's Bon Voyage
What were you both hoping to get out of this trip?
Neil: "I was hoping for a lot of fun! It hardly seemed like work, quite frankly!"
Martin: "We don’t get to hang out like this, so it was really nice – but quite tiresome having to make a programme, to be honest!"
How well does each of you know France?
Neil: "I’ve had a little old farmer’s cottage in the southwest of France for nearly 20 years. No one knows who I am here, and the old ladies elbow me out of the way to get to the prize onions in the market!"
Martin: "We used to take a house in France when the kids were small, but we haven’t done that for a while, so it was nice to travel around with Neil because he is so familiar with the country."
Would you say you are a good or bad influence on each other?
Neil: "I think we're a very good influence on each other, as we know exactly how to lead each other astray! But we always turn up at breakfast the following morning. We never miss a day's filming!"
Martin: "Nicely fielded, mate! But yes, we’ve always had each other’s backs."
What do you remember about the first time you met?
Neil: "I went to see Martin when he was appearing in Peter Pan in Bristol in 1984. I actually went to see my mate, who was playing Peter Pan, but I've got a feeling we might have had a drink afterwards! And we lived very close to each other, so we used to hang out in certain haunts, and our careers were on a similar sort of pathway…"
Martin: "No they weren’t! You were in [Michael Elphick TV comedy-drama] Boon, and you had a mobile phone and a Volkswagen Golf!"
Do you think Men Behaving Badly could be made today, considering your characters Gary and Tony’s attitudes towards women?
Neil: "We kind of had the ‘zeitgeist’ foisted upon us, and we were of the time. But I don't think you could, and certainly not in the way it was back then. It would have to be a period piece, and therefore we would not be in it!"
Martin: "They were totally in awe of women, although they worshipped them in an inappropriate way! But life has changed. Today, it’s like: ‘They said something inappropriate, so let’s stamp it out and cancel it!’ Nuance has gone out of fashion!"
You did the travelogue Men Down Under back in 2000. How different was that from this trip?
Martin: "Yes, we went right round Australia following the route the Olympic torch was about to take. We did all sorts of things – crocodile hunting…"
Martin: "And we went a mile underground at a huge open-face mine you can see from space, saw mountain wallabies and 40,000-year-old cave paintings, and herded cattle!"
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in each other since those days?
Neil: "Martin discovered horses, so that was a big change! And both of us ended up doing less comedy and more drama. That kind of crept up on both of us."
Martin: "Eventually we'll both be completely unfunny!"
Neil: "Also my high jumping skills have massively depleted, and running for a bus is exhausting. I'd rather wait!"
Martin: "And another big change is both of us is Neil having his base in France, and me being in Dorset."
Has making those moves changed your outlook?
Martin: "When I lived in London, I felt like I lived inside the TV industry, so identifying that as a plus is a big change."
Neil: "Me too! You can wake up thinking: ‘What should I be doing? How do I further my career?’ And then you look in the mirror and go: ‘It's okay, you're 62, calm down, man!’"
Did you learn anything new about each other on the trip?
Martin: "I don’t think so!"
Neil: "If anything, we discovered that we still mean something to each other, and we can still have fun. Not that we needed to learn it, but it was reinforced."
What would your younger selves make of you doing this now?
Neil: "I think it would be a big thumbs-up from my younger self. He’d say: ‘Call that work, do you? You don't have to learn lines, and you go and see gorgeous places with one of your best mates, and get paid for it? I'm glad it turned out all right, and I'm looking forward to being 62!’"
Martin: "I think my younger self would just give a little smile as if to say: ‘You’re still getting away with it, and there’s still value in us hanging out together!’"
Did you have a favourite place or activity while making this series?
Neil: "We were blown away by the caves in episode one. I think for Martin, it was the white horses of the Camargue [a coastal region in the south of France]. He wanted to do everything himself, including taking off the saddles and brushing them. I said: ‘Martin, there are people to do that!’"
Martin: "And going fishing was great."
Neil: "Yes, we caught five nice-sized fish and fed the crew. If we’d had some loaves as well, it would have been quite religious!
You enjoy some tasty tipples in the programme. Did either of you do dry January this year?
Martin: "Er, no, I’ve not heard of that!"
Neil: "I thought I might attempt a moist May!"
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