James May teases retirement as he approaches 60th birthday: ‘I suspect it’s not far off’-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

James May will celebrate his 60th birthday in January (Picture: Getty/Rex)

James May has hinted that he’s ‘not far off’ retirement ahead of his 60th birthday and we have no doubt that Grand Tour fans will be shaking.

The TV presenter, 59, who fronts the beloved Prime Video show with his former Top Gear co-stars Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, also fronts Our Man, a successful unscripted travelogue series.

May voiced his fears of there being ‘more behind me than in front of me’ as he approaches a milestone birthday in January.

‘A very close friend of mine died a few weeks ago. He retired early, because he’d always had this fear that his family isn’t very long-lived, and he wanted to swap possessions for experiences and knowledge,’ he said.

‘That’s what he started doing, but unfortunately, he got cancer and it killed him.

‘It was quite interesting thinking about that after he’d gone because it takes a certain amount of courage to say, “No, I don’t want to telegraph my success and my sophistication.

The TV presenter stars in The Grand Tour alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond (Picture: Prime Video)

James has shared that he’s considering retirement (Picture: Getty)

‘”I simply want to have a nice life and contemplate the mystery and wonder of God’s creation”.’

When asked if he is planning to retire and sell off his cars, May told Radio Times: ‘It’s something I’m quietly contemplating, and I suspect it’s not far off.’

The host also revealed that he has inched away from his love of cars following the UK’s national lockdown which diminished leisure time.

‘During that time I couldn’t do quite a lot of hobbies that I thought were very important to me, like flying aeroplanes and running motorcycles,’ he added to the publication.

‘But I found that as we eased out of the pandemic, I didn’t start doing them again very much.

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‘I got heavily back into riding my bicycle. I’ve always liked riding bicycles, but I started using it for everything and riding it every day. And I think that might actually make me feel better.’

May’s latest project, Our Man In Italy, follows the success of Our Man In Japan, a six-part unscripted series during which he travelled across all of the country.

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