LA DOLCE VITA

RYLAN CLARK and ROB RINDER share the wonders of their Italian odyssey

- TESS LAMACRAFT

ROB AND RYLAN'S GRAND TOUR NEW SUNDAY, 9PM, BBC2 TRAVELOGUE (BOX SET, BBC IPLAYER)

Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark describe themselves as being like chalk and cheese. But that didn’t stop the popular presenters from having a whale of a time when they embarked on an adventure in Italy for a new BBC2 travelogue, Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour.

The three-part series sees the pair follow in the footsteps of 19th-century Romantic poet Lord Byron and countless other English aristocrats who took the so-called ‘Grand Tour’ as they visit the Italian cities of Venice, Florence and Rome to explore the country’s art, culture and landscape as well as sample the life-changing exploits of historic Brits abroad.

TV Times joined Radio 2 host Rylan, 35, and former barrister Rob, 45, at the BBC’s London HQ to find out what’s on their itinerary…

Did you know each other before teaming up for this journey of discovery?

RYLAN Yes, we met through telly. The first time I messaged Rob was when I was filming a show in Manchester and broke into the set of Judge Rinder [Rob’s ITV reality courtroom series, which ran between 2014 and 2020] because I was desperate to see it! I sat in his chair, posted a picture on Instagram and Rob replied, ‘You look great, darling!’

We’ve become good friends, but we’re ‘The Unlikely Lads’ – yes, we’re both gay and work in telly, but we’re polar opposites when it comes to pretty much everything.