Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip

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Paul Hollywood road trips around the continent.

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Paul Hollywood

Fablo Grillo

Finore Massimileano

Giuseppina Narsecchia

Bruno Tonioli

Gianluca Betti

Andrea Palma

Massimiliano Morini

Mirko Zambaldo

Kevin Napoli

Eleonora Galasso

Francesco De Carlo

Massimo Biasion

Nathaniel Bullen

Nick Deacon

Jake Coffey

Ben Hadley

Vince Narduzzo

Kate Davis

Vicki Lindsay

Amanda Clark

Sarah Swift

Brian Charles

Adam Humphries

Neil Parkinson

Ant Smith

Jamie Balment

Steve Gowans

Craig Mcalpine

Ian Bayliss

Ewan Keil

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Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip: Series 1: Episode 1: Italy

Italy

Episode 1

Episode 1: Italy

Series 1

BBC Two - Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip, Series 1, Italy

Paul Hollywood visits Italy to find out what makes the country tick when it comes to cars.

Paul Hollywood visits Italy to find out what makes the country tick when it comes to cars. How do the cars they make and the way they drive reflect their nation's character?

In this episode, Paul Hollywood visits Italy to find out what makes the country tick when it comes to cars. How do the cars they make and the way they drive reflect the character of the Italian nation? On his trip, Paul drives some of the best, worst and most important cars built in Italy and is joined by a few travelling companions who provide an insight into Italian culture and explain why they think their nation has such a love affair with cars.

Paul's six-day road trip begins in the capital, Rome - where the whole road thing started. He is joined for the day by Strictly judge and Italian sports car fan Bruno Tonioli. In a bright orange Lamborghini, Bruno takes Paul on a tour of the city and teaches him how to drive like an Italian. They meet up with the policeman who has the unenviable job of directing the traffic at Rome's most notorious intersection and then have a more surprising encounter with the police when they get pulled over on the autostrada by just about the most fantastic police car in the world.

Day two begins with a long drive north for Paul, in possibly the worst Italian car ever - the Alfasud. Luckily, Paul doesn't break down and makes it intact to Maranello - the home of Ferrari. Loathe to be seen in an old Alfa here, Paul hires the only car anyone would want to drive around this town - a Ferrari. After a quick tour of Maranello and a chat with the mayor, Paul heads for the home of another Italian supercar legend - Pagani. Pagani are quite possibly the world's finest car builders and they have said Paul can take one of their two-million-pound Huayra cars for a spin on a local circuit. However, when Paul arrives, the car is not working. Paul is devastated, but then something amazing happens and Paul ends his second day in Italy on a very high high.

Day three and Paul is in Verona, to work for a laundry as a delivery driver. His vehicle is possibly the most important post-war Italian vehicle of them all - the Piaggio Ape. After doing his rounds, Paul heads out of Verona in a 1938 Alfa 6C - a car built to commemorate Italy's greatest motor race, the Mille Miglia. Paul drives along some of the race route and visits the memorial to the crash which ended the race proper for good.

By day four, Paul is Turin, the home of some of the world's leading car styling houses. He hooks up with chef and style guru Eleonora Gallaso. Their wheels for the day - a classic Fiat 500. Eleonora explains to Paul why style is such a crucial part of the Italian identity and ends the day by giving him a bit of an Italian makeover - Paulo Hollywood looks pretty dapper!

On day five, Paul is way up in the Alps in Courmayeur. This is a very different Italy and one that requires a very different kind of car. The Panda 4x4 is the perfect motoring match for this mountainous Italy - but how will it do on an ice track against a Ferrari? Well, with the help of two-time WRC winner Miki Biasion, Paul finds out.

On the final day of his Italian road trip, Paul has got his hands on the possibly most beautiful and engaging Italian car ever built, the Lamborghini Miura. He is joined by Italian comedian Francesco De Carlo. After a few lessons in how to gesticulate to other drivers, Francesco wants to try and explain to Paul why Italians make such engaging and involving cars. They visit a town called Ivrea, where they take part in the Battle of the Oranges - a massive festival which is all about having a massive fight with oranges. It's an exhilarating end to the trip.

Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip: Series 1

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Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip

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Episode 1: Italy

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