The Grand Tour relishes Africa filming

The Grand TourJeremy Clarkson has described filming on location in southern Africa as a highlight for the second series of Amazon’s motoring show The Grand Tour.

Clarkson rejoins his former Top Gear colleagues James May and Richard Hammond as they explore exotic parts of the world in an array of vehicles.

For Clarkson, filming in Mozambique on Africa’s south-east coast was his personal favourite of all the countries visited for the new season, he revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“Filming in southern Africa – Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, [or] any of those countries – is heaven,” said Clarkson in comments to the outlet. “They simply don’t understand what you mean by health and safety. You can do anything you like. Anything is possible. And it’s beautiful, the weather is lovely and you’re uninterrupted by any of the things that curse the western world. 

“I love southern Africa, so filming there is a joy. Now, fingers crossed we’ll be able to go film in Zimbabwe next year now that that’s become available.”

Zimbabwe was usually off-limits for Clarkson and his team when they were with Top Gear, partly because the BBC was banned from filming in the country for nearly ten years by former leader Robert Mugabe.

The Grand Tour made a significant change for its second series by filming its ‘studio’ sequences in a tent that was set up in the Cotsworlds, rather than in international locations.

The decision was made partly because all three presenters were injured or taken ill at various times during the shoot for Series Two, which impacted the production schedule. However, filming all the studio segments in the same place over a shorter timeframe ultimately meant there was more money available for driving sequences.

Images: Amazon Prime Video

 



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