BBC Two Announces The Real Marigold Hotel

BBC Two has announced the commission of a new travel documentary series – The Real Marigold Hotel. The series, which has been inspired but unrelated to the hit movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, will take eight famous senior citizens to India for the journey of a lifetime.

It follows actor Miriam Margolyes OBE, dancer Wayne Sleep OBE, actor Sylvester McCoy, comedian Roy Walker, chef Rosemary Shrager, darts champion Bobby George, singer Patti Boulaye OBE and former news reader Jan Leeming for three weeks to see if they would consider spending their golden years retiring to the other side of the world.

The group arrive in Jaipur, capital of the state of Rajasthan in Northern India, to see whether they can set up a better, more rewarding retirement there than in the UK.

The group will take over a haveli, an Indian private mansion, and from the outset they have to work out how to set up home together. This includes who will cook and clean, whether they will need to hire staff, how they will get around Jaipur, and how they will spend their time in the country.

The series will see the group embrace Indian culture, from the surprises of the capital's largest slum to meeting Jaipur's Royal family at the Rambagh Palace. As they settle into local life, members of the group take to yoga and learn some Hindi, experience shopping in the hectic streets, hunt for potential properties and take advantage of the medical care. They'll also visit the Ganesh Chaturti festival, ride elephants, and make a trip to Varanasi, one of the holiest Hindu cities in India. They also undertake a 150-mile trip to the Taj Mahal.

Kim Shillinglaw, Controller of BBC Two, said: "In 2016, BBC Two will be tackling a number of contemporary issues, from the black economy to low pay, with lively, entertaining new programmes with real purpose. I'm delighted to be kicking off with this warm and very funny experiment examining how we spend our older years. With a terrific line up of characters, the Real Marigold Hotel is both entertaining and incredibly moving and raises some big questions about the way we live the later part of our lives."

The 3x60' Real Marigold Hotel series is a Twofour production for BBC Two. It is Executive Produced by David Clews and Andrew MacKenzie. David Vallance is the Series Editor.

It was commissioned by Kim Shillinglaw, Controller, BBC Two and Clare Sillery, BBC Commissioning Editor, Documentaries. The series is set to air late-January 2016 (tbc).

Image courtesy of BBC Media Centre.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP)