Catch up TV

Series 1: 1. Venice

Rob Rinder and Rylan are setting off on the original package holiday – the Grand Tour. The pair are presenters, friends, and men who love the finer things in life – and now they’re going to discover the greatest art treasures in Italy, finding out more about themselves along the way.\n\nOn the 200th anniversary of the death of Romantic poet Lord Byron, the pair are following in the footsteps of Byron and other Grand Tourists, immersing themselves in the art, culture, bad behaviour and life-changing exploits of historic Brits abroad. Rob and Rylan will travel from Venice, to Florence, to Rome.\n\nThe Grand Tour was the first gap year – and saw countless English aristocrats leave behind the confines of British society for freedom and discovery abroad. Both Rob and Rylan have both been through painful divorces recently, and are looking for a new chapter in life. So can this Grand Tour mend their broken hearts, give them the restart they need, and turn them into cultured and civilised young gents? \n\nRob and Rylan begin their journey in Venice – coming face-to-face with one of the largest paintings on canvas in the world, Tintoretto‘s Il Paradiso.\n\nThey also discover the artistic legacy of Canaletto, before heading to Murano, an island in the Venetian lagoon, to try glass-blowing. Rob attempts to fulfil a lifelong dream, by conducting Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in the church where it was first performed, while Rylan discovers the hidden side of Venice’s famous Carnival. Finally, both Rob and Rylan step out of their comfort zone by donning drag and taking to the city’s Grand Canal, alongside twenty other drag queens.

Source: BBC 2