James May facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James May
May in 2007
Born	James Daniel May (1963-01-16) 16 January 1963 (age 62) Bristol, England
Other names	Captain Slow
Alma mater	Lancaster University
Occupation	Broadcaster columnist author journalist businessman
Years active	1980 (1980)s–present
Employer	Amazon Prime Video Former employers: BBC Channel 4 ITV Sky The Engineer Autocar The Daily Telegraph
Known for	Top Gear (2002 Series) (2003–15) James May's Toy Stories (2009, 2011–14) The Grand Tour (2016–24) James May: Our Man in... (2020–24) James May: Oh Cook! (2020–23)
Partner(s)	Sarah Frater (2000–present)

James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter, writer, and journalist. He is most famous for co-hosting the car show Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 to 2015. The trio later created the show The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video, which ran from 2016 to 2024.

Besides cars, May has hosted many other TV shows about science, technology, travel, and classic toys. He also wrote a weekly column about cars for The Daily Telegraph newspaper for many years.

Early Life and Education

James Daniel May was born in Bristol, England. His father was a manager at an aluminium factory. He is one of four children, with two sisters and a brother. As a child, May lived in Newport, Wales.

During his teenage years, his family moved to South Yorkshire. There, he was a choirboy at his local church. May went to Lancaster University and studied music, where he learned to play the flute and piano. After university, he worked a few different jobs before becoming a journalist in his thirties.

Journalism Career

In the 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for magazines like The Engineer and Autocar. A sub-editor helps check and prepare articles for printing. He was once fired from Autocar for playing a clever prank.

He has written for many publications, including Car Magazine and Top Gear magazine. He also published several books, including May on Motors, which is a collection of his articles.

The Autocar Prank

James May's hidden message in the magazine.

In 1992, May was fired from Autocar magazine for hiding a secret message in an issue. He was responsible for putting together a special "Road Test Yearbook." Each car review in the yearbook started with a large red letter.

May thought the work was boring, so he decided to have some fun. He arranged the articles so that the first letters of each review spelled out a message. The first few pages spelled "ROAD TEST YEAR BOOK." But the following pages spelled out a hidden, rude message about how boring the job was.

The editors didn't notice at first. But when readers started calling the magazine, thinking there was a prize, the secret was discovered. The magazine's managers were not amused and fired him.

Television Career

May has presented many different TV shows. In 1998, he hosted Driven on Channel 4. He also presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys, where he explored classic toys like Lego and Airfix.

Top Gear

The Top Gear team: Richard Hammond, James May, and Jeremy Clarkson in 2009.

May briefly hosted the original Top Gear in 1999. He joined the popular new version of the show in 2003 for its second series. On the show, he got the nickname "Captain Slow" because of his careful and sometimes slow driving style.

Despite the nickname, he has driven some of the fastest cars in the world. He drove a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h). Later, he drove an even faster version, the Veyron Super Sport, at 259.11 mph (417 km/h).

With his co-hosts, May went on many adventures. He drove a specially modified truck to the magnetic North Pole and even drove up the side of an erupting volcano in Iceland. He left Top Gear in 2015 along with his co-presenters.

Science and Space Shows

May has a strong interest in science and technology. He presented James May's 20th Century, a show about the greatest inventions of the last century. He also hosted James May's Big Ideas, where he explored futuristic ideas that are becoming reality.

In 2009, he presented James May on the Moon to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing. For a follow-up show, James May at the Edge of Space, he flew in a U-2 spy plane to the stratosphere, over 13 miles (21 km) high.

James May's Toy Stories

May in 2009 while filming James May's Toy Stories.

This popular series, which began in 2009, saw May take classic toys to a whole new level. Some of his amazing projects included:

• Building a full-size, two-story house completely out of 3.3 million Lego bricks.
• Creating the world's longest model railway line, stretching for 10 miles (16 km).
• Building a life-size motorcycle and sidecar entirely out of Meccano and riding it around the famous Isle of Man TT race track.
• Launching a large toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) across the sea to an island.

Travel Shows

May has also hosted several travel shows. In Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, he and wine expert Oz Clarke explored the food and drink culture of France and California.

More recently, he created the series James May: Our Man in... for Amazon Prime Video. In the first series, he traveled across Japan. In the second, he explored Italy, and in the third, he journeyed through India.

Internet Shows

May received an honorary degree in 2010.

May is also active online. He helped create the YouTube channel Head Squeeze (now BBC Earth Lab), which explains science and technology topics.

In 2015, he started his own YouTube channel, which featured cooking videos from his kitchen. He later launched other channels and projects, including the car-focused social network DriveTribe with his former Top Gear co-hosts. One of his cooking videos went viral when he simply said the word "cheese," which became a popular internet meme.

Personal Life

May lives in West London with his long-term partner, art critic Sarah Frater. In 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Lancaster University, where he studied music as a young man. In 2020, he became the co-owner of a historic pub in Wiltshire, England.

Vehicles

As a car expert, May has owned many interesting vehicles. His collection has included a Ferrari 458 Speciale, a Porsche 911, a Tesla Model S 100D, and an Alpine A110. He also enjoys simpler cars like the Fiat Panda.

Besides cars, May is a qualified pilot. He earned his pilot's licence in 2006 and has owned several small aircraft. He often uses a folding bicycle to get around London.

Filmography

Television

DVD

Video games

Television advertisements

Britcar 24 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Car No.	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.	Ref
2007	Team Top Gear	Jeremy Clarkson "The Stig" Richard Hammond	BMW 330d	78	4	396	39th	3rd