James May is an English journalist and TV host. From 2003 to 2015, he co-hosted the popular car show “Top Gear” with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond. He owns his own business called “W. Chump & Sons,” and he and his former “Top Gear” co-workers also host the TV show “Grand Tour” for Amazon Video, which is only available to Amazon Prime members. May’s first job as a journalist was as a sub-editor for the magazines “The Engineer” and “Autocar” in the early 1980s. He also wrote weekly columns for “The Daily Telegraph” and hosted several shows about science, technology, liquor, toys, and lifestyle. Aside from “Top Gear,” he has hosted some other very popular TV shows, such as “Oz and James’ Big Wine Adventure,” “James May: My Sisters’ Top Toys,” “Top Ground Gear Force,” and “Oz and James Drink to Britain.” Since 2006, James May has written many books. Some of the best ones are “Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure,” “James May’s 20th Century,” “Oz and James Drink to Britain,” “James May’s Car Fever,” “James May’s Toy Stories: Lego House,” and “James May: On Board.”
Early years and childhood
James Daniel May was born on January 16, 1963, in Bristol, England. He has two sisters and a brother.
During his childhood, he went to Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport, and when he was a teenager, he went to Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham. He used to sing in the Whiston Parish Church choir.
James used to love music a lot when he was younger, and he even got his bachelor’s degree in music. He studied harpsichord and piano at Pendle College, which is part of Lancaster University. Aside from being good at piano and harpsichord, he also plays the flute and saxophone well.
James May’s Career
James May’s first job was as a sub-editor for the magazine “The Engineer.” Later, he went to work for the magazine “Autocar.” He was fired from “Autocar” because he played a joke. In one issue, he put together an acrostic.
He wrote for many magazines and newspapers and had a regular column called “England Made Me” in “Car Magazine.” He also wrote columns for “Top Gear” and “The Daily Telegraph.”
May’s biggest job on TV was co-hosting the “Top Gear” show with James May in 1999. Later, when the show was brought back, he helped host its second season in 2003. On the show, he drove some popular cars, like a Bugatti Veyron that went 253 mph. In 2007, he used a modified Toyota Hilux to go to the magnetic North Pole.
He has written many books, such as “May on Motors,” which came out in 2006. His other books are called “Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure,” “James May’s 20th Century,” “Oz and James Drink to Britain,” “James May’s Car Fever,” “James May’s Magnificent Machines,” “James May’s Toy Stories: Airfix Handbook,” “James May’s Toy Stories: Lego House,” and “James May: On Board.”
James May has worked on a lot of shows about science, mostly as a host. He was the host of the Sky documentary “Inside Killer Sharks.” He also flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon, reaching a speed of about 1,320 miles per hour. This was shown on the TV show “James May’s 20th Century.”
Later, he hosted shows like “James May on the Moon” and “James May at the Edge of Space.” He shot the second one, so a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane took him to the stratosphere.
BBC decided not to renew Jeremy Clarkson’s contract on March 25, 2015, and James May also decided not to stay on the show after that.
James’s Major Works
For James May, co-hosting the first season of “Top Gear” was the highlight of his career. His colleagues and the media called him “Captain Slow” because of how carefully and carefully he drove.
But he has also done some memorable driving on the show, like taking a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph in 2007. Later in 2010, he drove the Veyron 16.4 Super Sports to a speed of 259.11 mph.
In 2007, he and his fellow presenter Jeremy Clarkson drove to the magnetic North Pole in a modified Toyota Hilux. May did a lot of exciting things on the trip that was shown on TV. He drove a Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. He also drove a 1.3-liter Suzuki SJ413 through Bolivia, along the Death Road, and over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean in Chile.
Awards & Achievements
In July 2010, Lancaster University gave James May a degree of honor.
May’s Personal Life
James May lives in Hammersmith, west London, with his long-term partner, dance critic Sarah Frater. The two people have been together for more than 16 years.
He loves cars and has owned more than a dozen new ones and ones that were made just for him.
His collection includes a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Triumph 2000, a Rover P6, a Bentley T2, an Alfa Romeo 164, a 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche, a Jaguar XJS, a Fiat Panda, a Datsun 120Y, a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift, a 2005 Porsche Boxster S, and a 1984 Porsche 911. He has a BMW i3 and a Ferrari 458 Speciale from 2014 in his garage right now.
He also has a license to fly light aircraft, which he got in 2006.
Estimated Net worth
James May is a journalist and TV host from Britain. He is worth $40 million. May is best known as one of the hosts of the TV show “Top Gear,” where he worked with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 1999 to 2003 and again from 2003 to 2015.
Trivia
has a YouTube channel called “JM’s unemployment tube,” which is his own channel.
The first time he tried to get a license, he failed.