James May#Dismissal from Autocar magazine

James Daniel May was born in Bristol, the son of aluminium factory manager James May and his wife Kathleen. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother.{{cite news |last=Philby |first=Charlotte |date=27 September 2008 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-james-may-tv-presenter-age-45-943442.html |title=My Secret Life: James May, TV presenter, age 45 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=20 January 2010}} May attended Caerleon Endowed School in Newport, Wales. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2007/11/10/mrmay10.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114103312/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2007/11/10/mrmay10.xml|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 November 2007|title=Frocks make a boy a man|author=James May|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=31 December 2007|date=10 November 2007 | location=London}}

May studied music at Pendle College, Lancaster University, where he learned to play the flute and piano; he also spent a year studying metalwork at a technical college.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/jamesmay/7893463/Top-Gears-James-May-awarded-honorary-degree.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/jamesmay/7893463/Top-Gears-James-May-awarded-honorary-degree.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Top Gear's James May awarded honorary degree|date=16 July 2010|access-date=13 February 2019|website=Telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-01-24/james-may-on-chris-evans-amazon-and-life-after-top-gear/|title=James May on Chris Evans, Amazon and life after Top Gear|website=Radio Times|access-date=13 February 2019|archive-date=11 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511184330/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-01-24/james-may-on-chris-evans-amazon-and-life-after-top-gear/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/i-am-more-liberal-than-people-think-xml2ps3ll |title=James May: 'I am more liberal than people think' |work=The Times |last=Crampton |first=Robert |date=10 June 2017 |access-date=30 July 2021 }} After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer and had a short stint in the civil service before taking up journalism and broadcasting in his thirties.{{cite news

|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-mild-one-how-james-may-became-the-most-indemand-presenter-on-british-television-1771436.html

|title=The mild one: How James May became the most in-demand presenter on British television

|work=The Independent

|date=15 August 2009

|access-date=18 August 2009

| location=London

| first=Nick

| last=Duerden

}} He also held a part-time job as a moulder at the foundry his father was employed at and suggested in a 2017 interview with The Times that this formed his interest in mechanics.{{cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/i-am-more-liberal-than-people-think-xml2ps3ll |title=James May: 'I am more liberal than people think' |work=The Times |last=Crampton |first=Robert |date=10 June 2017 |access-date=7 January 2023 }}

During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank.{{cite news

| url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5561393/Interview-James-May.html

| title = Interview: James May

| work = The Telegraph

| date = 19 June 2009

| author = Michael Deacon

| access-date = 12 September 2012

}} He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph.

He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month, he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter. Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007.

File:JamesMayAutocar.jpg

In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2,BBC Radio 2, broadcast 6 January 2006 May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial or a drop cap). May's role was to put the entire supplement together.

To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated, these letters spelt out the message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse."{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/captain-slow-takes-the-fast-lane/2008/06/18/1213468491019.html |title=Captain Slow takes the fast lane – TV & Radio – Entertainment |work=The Age |date= 19 June 2008|access-date=5 November 2009 | location=Melbourne}}

In a 2019 interview with Carscoops.com, May stated that while the hidden message originally passed through the magazine's pre-printing review processes unnoticed, he was found out when readers began calling in to Autocar's offices, thinking there might be a prize involved. Upon learning of this, the magazine's management called for May to be fired.{{Cite web |last=Karkafiris |first=Michael |date=July 15, 2019 |title=James May Opens Up About The Time He Got Fired From Autocar |url=https://www.carscoops.com/2019/07/james-may-opens-up-about-the-time-he-got-fired-from-autocar/ |access-date=March 23, 2024 |website=Carscoops.com}}

His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School,[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0561982/ James May] Internet Movie Database and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show.{{cite web|url=http://www.speakerscorner.co.uk/file/3a6850ee99183a512648ec2d63c165fb/james-may-top-gear-motoring-speaker-awards-host-after-dinner-humorist.html |title=James May, Top Gear presenter, after-dinner speaker and awards host |publisher=Speakers Corner |access-date=5 November 2009}} He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008l2vq |title=Two Programmes – James May: My Sister's Top Toys |publisher=BBC |access-date=5 November 2009}} In series 3, episode 3{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/159/f-word-season-3-episode-3.jsp |title=Season 3 Episode 3 – Gordon Ramsay's F Word |publisher=BBC America |access-date=8 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717025139/http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/159/f-word-season-3-episode-3.jsp |archive-date=17 July 2010 }} of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe.{{cite web |url=http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/interview-with-gordon-ramsay-on-the-f-word/ |title=Interview with Gordon Ramsay on the 'F' Word @ Unreality Primetime |access-date=9 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114042822/http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/interview-with-gordon-ramsay-on-the-f-word/ |archive-date=14 November 2009 |df=dmy-all }} "The worst ever would have to be James May, with his fish pie. Even though he won, which was extraordinary. He was drinking a bottle of red wine throughout the challenge, so I thought it was in the bag."[http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/posh-fish-pie-recipe_p_1.html] "This recipe is Gordon's version of a posh fish pie originally made by James May."

{{main|Top Gear (2002 TV series)}}

File:Top Gear team Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson 31 October 2008.jpg, James May and Jeremy Clarkson, 2009]]

May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series in 1999. During an interview in 2020, Jeremy Clarkson claimed that the show's original producers had decided to replace him with May in 1999, though they felt dissatisfied with May as he was soon fired in 2000, shortly before the entire program was cancelled the following year.{{cite web|url=https://www.hotcars.com/heres-how-james-may-rose-to-become-a-motoring-icon-/|title=Here's How James May Rose To Petrolhead Royalty|date=26 July 2021 }} Following the first season of the show's relaunch in 2002, Clarkson managed to convince Andrew Wilman to rehire him as Jason Dawe's replacement.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xDld_bGuZk|title=Jeremy Clarkson on the first time he met Richard Hammond and James May|website=YouTube }} He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003,{{cite news|title=Top Gear's James May Shifts His Career Into Overdrive|url=http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/03/17/gears-james-takes-career-overdrive/|publisher=Fox News|date=17 March 2010|access-date=5 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412215827/http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/03/17/gears-james-takes-career-overdrive/|archive-date=12 April 2015|df=dmy-all}} where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style, and his OCD-like obsessions with order.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNyidq8iWD4|title=Top Gear - Tampons and James May's OCD|website=YouTube}} Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in the 2007 series, he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of {{convert|253|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, then in 2010 he achieved {{convert|259.11|mph|km/h|abbr=on|0}} in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition.{{cite web |url=http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/james-may-bugatti-veyron-supersport?imageNo=12 |title=James in the Bugatti Veyron SuperSport |work=Top Gear |access-date=26 November 2011 |archive-date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114221012/http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/james-may-bugatti-veyron-supersport?imageNo=12 |url-status=dead }} In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F.

May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to the magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2235451/Top-Gears-Jeremy-Clarkson-criticised-for-glamorising-drink-driving.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2235451/Top-Gears-Jeremy-Clarkson-criticised-for-glamorising-drink-driving.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title= Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson criticised for glamorising drink driving|publisher=The Telegraph|date=2 July 2008|access-date=31 March 2015}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7035252/Copy-Top-Gears-polar-trip.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7035252/Copy-Top-Gears-polar-trip.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| title= Copy Top Gear's polar trip|publisher=The Telegraph|date=21 January 2010|access-date=31 March 2015| last1= Williams| first1= David}}{{cbignore}} In the words of Clarkson, May was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcarfans.com/110041925739/toyota-hilux-taunts-icelands-volcano-moments-before-eruption|title=Toyota Hilux taunts Iceland's volcano moments before eruption – Top Gear takes credit|publisher=WorldCarFans|date=19 April 2010|access-date=31 March 2015}}

Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32052736|agency=BBC News Online|title=Jeremy Clarkson dropped from Top Gear, BBC confirms – BBC News|date=25 March 2015|access-date=25 March 2015}} May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of a new line-up of presenters.{{cite news|title= Top Gear: James May rules out returning without Jeremy Clarkson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/23/james-may-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-bbc-richard-hammond|work=The Guardian|date=23 April 2015|access-date=23 April 2015}}

May presented Inside Killer Sharks, a documentary for Sky, and James May's 20th Century, investigating inventions.{{cite web|url=http://www.open2.net/20thcentury/index.html |title=BBC/OU Open2.net – James May's 20th Century |publisher=Open2.net |access-date=5 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121042551/http://www.open2.net/20thcentury/index.html |archive-date=21 November 2009 }} He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century. In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas, a three-part series in which May travelled around the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction.{{cite web |url=http://www.open2.net/jamesmay/ |title=BBC/OU Open2.net – James May's Big Ideas |publisher=Open2.net |access-date=5 November 2009 |archive-date=25 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925044648/http://www.open2.net/jamesmay/ |url-status=dead }} He also presented James May's Man Lab from 2010–2013. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back, a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute.{{cite web |url=http://www.fulldomeshows.com/tospaceandback/index.html |title=To Space & Back with James May |website=fulldomeshows.com |access-date=11 March 2015 |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428142553/http://www.fulldomeshows.com/tospaceandback/index.html |url-status=dead }}

{{main|James May on the Moon|James May at the Edge of Space}}

James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on the Moon.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lfdbv |title=James May on the Moon |publisher=BBC |date=7 July 2013 |access-date=2 September 2013}} This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space, where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon, but was shown fully in this programme.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lc5ph |title=James May at the Edge of Space |publisher=BBC |date=8 March 2012 |access-date=2 September 2013}} This made him one of the highest flying people, along with the pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station.

{{main|James May's Toy Stories}}

File:James May Toy Stories 2009 (2).jpg]]

Beginning in October 2009, May presented a six-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix, Plasticine, Meccano, Scalextric, Lego and Hornby. In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in the process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/8179678.stm |title=UK | May starts building Lego house |work=BBC News |date=1 August 2009 |access-date=5 November 2009}} Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high;Radio Times 24–30 October 2009 despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8269479.stm |title=Entertainment | James May's Lego house demolished |work=BBC News |date=22 September 2009 |access-date=5 November 2009}}

Also for the series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track,[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/8187656.stm May to attempt Scalextric record], BBC News, 7 August 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2009 and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8219567.stm|title=Model train record bid off track|date=25 August 2009|work=BBC Online|access-date=29 December 2013}} Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing a race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route.{{cite web|title=The Great Train Race |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0120z75 |work=(Programme listing) |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610074740/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0120z75 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}

A special Christmas Episode called Flight Club, aired in December 2012. In this special, James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to the island of Lundy.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pmbmx |title=BBC Two James May's Toy Stories: Flight Club |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 January 2013}}

In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano. Joined by Oz Clarke, he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, a full {{fraction|37|3|4}} mile-long circuit.

{{main|Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure|Oz and James Drink to Britain}}

In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/wineadventure_about.shtml |title=Food – TV and radio – Episode guide |publisher=BBC |access-date=5 November 2009}} A second series was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country,{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/wineadventure_interviewjames.shtml |title=Food – TV and Radio |publisher=BBC |access-date=5 November 2009}} and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain.

{{main|James May: Our Man in...}}

In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan, the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand the country which has intrigued him for a long time.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/James-May-Our-Japan-Season/dp/B082WM379P |title=Watch James May: Our Man In Japan |publisher=Amazon |access-date=20 January 2020}} During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators.

A second series, James May: Our Man in Italy, is a travel documentary with May on a journey throughout the regions of Italy from Palermo to the Dolomites on a trip exploring the culture, food, and more.{{cite web |title=James May: Our Man in Italy |url=https://press.amazonstudios.com/us/en/original-series/james-may-our-man-in/2 |publisher=Amazon Studios |access-date=18 August 2022}}

A third series, James May: Our Man in India, is another travel documentary with James May on a journey throughout the country of India.{{cite web |title=Prime Video Confirms Two New Series for James May|url=https://press.amazonstudios.com/us/en/press-release/amayzing-prime-video-confirms-two-new-series-for-j |publisher=Amazon Studios |access-date=10 December 2023}} In October 2024, May confirmed the series was cancelled.{{cite web |title=James May confirms his Our Man In... series has been cancelled |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/james-may-our-man-in-cancelled-prime-video-143924126.html |accessdate=28 October 2024 |website=Yahoo News |date=28 October 2024 }}

File:James May Lancaster University 2010 (cropped).jpg

May created Head Squeeze{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/worldwide/310113youtube.html|title=James May fronts BBC Worldwide's latest original YouTube channel – Head Squeeze|date=31 January 2013|publisher=BBC|access-date=29 April 2013}} (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production{{cite web|url=http://www.360production.com/project2.html|title=Head Squeeze – YouTube|publisher=360production.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224080446/http://www.360production.com/project2.html|archive-date=24 February 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=11 December 2013}} for BBC Worldwide.

May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/top-gear/11501377/Top-Gear-presenter-James-May-posts-first-video-on-unemployment-YouTube-channel.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/top-gear/11501377/Top-Gear-presenter-James-May-posts-first-video-on-unemployment-YouTube-channel.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Top Gear presenter James May posts first video on 'unemployment' YouTube channel|date=|work=The Independent|access-date=18 April 2015}}{{cbignore}}

In 2016, May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/06/motoring-community-drivetribe-secures-6-5m-from-21st-century-fox/|title=Motoring community DriveTribe secures $6.5M from 21st Century Fox|last=Butcher|first=Mike|website=TechCrunch|date=6 September 2016 |access-date=25 April 2017}}

In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using a small, bedsit-like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker".{{cite web|url=https://www.autoevolution.com/news/james-may-talks-about-cheese-and-eggs-on-new-foodtribe-channel-140550.html|title=James May talks about cheese and eggs on new Foodtrive channel|work=Auto Revolution|date=24 January 2020 |access-date=13 October 2020}} The channel has since been rebranded as "What Next?"{{YouTube|id=1XNqGvNKJWM|title=Richard Hammond announces something NEW {{!}} What Next?}}

May became an Internet meme when one of his Foodtribe videos went viral. In it, while preparing to make two cheese sandwiches, May bluntly uttered the word "cheese" after placing a block of Red Leicester on a table.{{Citation |title=James May finds the ultimate cheese sandwich |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFGGDq4JFhc |language=en |access-date=2022-08-22}} The quote went viral, and was used in various memes and image macros.

May lives in Hammersmith, West London, with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2000.{{cite web|url=http://transmission.blogs.topgear.com/2011/01/23/video-behind-the-scenes-at-the-first-of-the-new-series/ |title=Transmission – BBC Top Gear Video: behind-the-scenes at the first of the new series « |publisher=Transmission.blogs.topgear.com |date=23 January 2011 |access-date=26 November 2011}} In July 2010, May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University, where he had previously studied music.{{cite news|title=Top Gear presenter James May awarded honorary doctorate|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-10649036|publisher=BBC|access-date=3 August 2015|date=15 July 2010}} He holds a Doctor of Letters degree.{{cite web |url=https://drivetribe.com/p/james-may-answers-the-internets-WL9EwdwnSg2AnI3L-7VUAw |title=James May answers the internet's questions |date=12 May 2019 |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=12 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512201636/https://drivetribe.com/p/james-may-answers-the-internets-WL9EwdwnSg2AnI3L-7VUAw |url-status=dead }}

In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014}}

In June 2016, he supported Remain in the EU referendum.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/16/jeremy-clarkson-david-cameron-my-gut-says-stay-in-the-eu|title=Jeremy Clarkson tells David Cameron 'my gut says stay in the EU'|date=16 June 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=9 December 2017}} May has described his political leanings as "liberal".

In 2020, May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire, called The Royal Oak,{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-54219020|title=James May buys 'half' of Royal Oak in Swallowcliffe|date=19 September 2020|website=BBC News}} which dates from the early 18th century and is a Grade II listed building.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1250756|desc=The Royal Oak, Swallowcliffe|access-date=24 May 2015|fewer-links=yes}}

May has owned many cars. These include a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, Bentley T2, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Triumph 2000, Rover P6, Alfa Romeo 164, 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, Triumph Vitesse, Jaguar XJS, 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Datsun 120Y, Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1, a Ferrari 308 GTB, a 2015 Toyota Mirai, a 2021 Toyota Mirai,{{cite web |date=4 July 2021 |title=James May properly drives his new car for the first time |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v99AthjW78Uo |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}} Ferrari F430, Ferrari 458 Italia, 1984 Porsche 911 Turbo, a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D,{{cite web |date=25 December 2019 |title=James May reviews his own cars – Tesla Model S vs Toyota Mirai |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIW5CQQ3Zo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/GaIW5CQQ3Zo |archive-date=2021-12-21 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} a 2016 BMW i3, and a 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new).{{cite news|last=May |first=James |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2005/10/22/mrmay22.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012103741/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2005/10/22/mrmay22.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2007 |title=As seen on TV: Porsche breaks the spell of perfection |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=22 October 2005 |access-date=5 November 2009 | location=London}}

May currently owns a 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2018 Alpine A110, a Fiat Panda, a Volkswagen Polo, a Tesla Model 3 Highland, a prototype 1989 Rover Mini Cooper RSP,{{Cite web |title=Collecting Cars - 1989 Rover Mini Cooper RSP auction (James May's specific car) |url=https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1989-rover-mini-cooper-rsp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240902152308/https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1989-rover-mini-cooper-rsp |archive-date=2 September 2024 |access-date=26 August 2024 |website=Collecting Cars}} "a couple of Land Rovers", a Triumph Stag, a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys".{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBzqDJ7bCdU |title=James May - TST Podcast #947 |date=2024-08-20 |last=TheSmokingTirePodcast |access-date=2024-08-20 |via=YouTube}} He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2739714/Mines-a-pint-a-preposterous-excuse-for-a-Porsche.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2739714/Mines-a-pint-a-preposterous-excuse-for-a-Porsche.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Mine's a pint: a preposterous excuse for a Porsche|date=3 February 2006|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=21 March 2009|quote=James May with his Brompton bike | location=London}}{{cbignore}} He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass the second time".{{cite web|url=http://uktv.co.uk/dave/item/aid/570303 |title=Dave: What's on Dave: James May interview |publisher=Uktv.co.uk |date=29 March 2007 |access-date=5 November 2009}}

May obtained a light aircraft pilot's licence in October 2006, having trained at White Waltham Airfield. He has owned a Luscombe 8A Silvaire, a Cessna A185E Skywagon,{{cite web |title=Incident Cessna A185E Skywagon - SE-FMX, 05 April 2014 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=179976 |website=Aviation Safety Network - Flight Safety Foundation |access-date=14 August 2019}} and an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon with registration G-OCOK, which serves as a reference to a common phrase attributed to him.{{cite web|url=http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-OCOK.html |title=Aircraft G-OCOK, 1999 American Champion Aircraft 8KCAB C/N 825-99 |publisher=Airport-data.com |date=13 June 2008 |access-date=2 September 2013}}

• May on Motors: On the Road with James May. Virgin Books. 2006. Reprinted 2007. {{ISBN|9780753511862}}
• Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure. BBC Books. 2006. {{ISBN|9780563539001}}
• Notes from the Hard Shoulder. Virgin Books. 2007. {{ISBN|9780753512029}}
• James May's 20th Century. Hodder & Stoughton. 2007 (H/B). Reprinted 2007 (P/B). {{ISBN|9780340950906}}
• James May's Magnificent Machines. Hodder & Stoughton. 2008. {{ISBN|9780340950920}}
• Oz and James Drink to Britain. Pavilion (Anova). 2009. {{ISBN|9781862058460}}
• James May's Car Fever. Hodder & Stoughton. 2009 (H/B). Reprinted 2010 (P/B). {{ISBN|9780340994559}}
• James May's Toy Stories. Conway (Anova). 2009. {{ISBN|9781844861071}}
• James May's Toy Stories: Lego House. Conway (Anova). 2010. {{ISBN|9781844861187}}
• James May's Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. {{ISBN|9781844861163}}
• James May's Toy Stories: Scalextric Handbook. Conway (Anova). 2010. {{ISBN|9781844861170}}
• How to Land an A330 Airbus. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010 (H/B). Reprinted 2011 (P/B). {{ISBN|9781402269554}}
• James May's Man Lab: The Book of Usefulness. Hodder & Stoughton. 2011 (H/B). Reprinted 2012 (P/B) {{ISBN|9781444736328}}
• James May: On Board. Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. {{ISBN|9780340994597}}
• James May: The Reassembler. Hodder & Stoughton. 2017. {{ISBN|9781473656932}}
• James May: Oh Cook!. Pavilion. 2020. {{ISBN|9781911663157}}
• Carbolics: A Personal Motoring Disinfectant. Hodder & Stoughton. 2022. {{ISBN|9781399713702}}{{Cite web| title = Carbolics| access-date = 2024-10-09| website=Hodder & Stoughton| date = 2022-05-20| url = https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/james-may/carbolics/9781399713702/}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{IMDb name|0561982}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box | before = David Tremayne | title = Guild of Motoring Writers
Journalist of the Year Award | years=2000 | after=David Tremayne}}

{{s-end}}{{James May}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, James}}

Category:1963 births

Category:20th-century English journalists

Category:21st-century English journalists

Category:Alumni of Lancaster University

Category:Alumni of Pendle College, Lancaster

Category:BBC television presenters

Category:Britcar 24-hour drivers

Category:British motoring journalists

Category:English male journalists

Category:English television presenters

Category:Journalists from Bristol

Category:Journalists from London

Category:Living people

Category:People from Hammersmith

Category:Television personalities from Bristol

Category:Television personalities from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Category:The Daily Telegraph people

Category:Writers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham