PASSAGE TO INDIA: ROB AND RYLAN RETURN TO BBC TWO WITH NEW SERIES

Last year’s BAFTA-winning Grand Tour of Italy gave Rob and Rylan a taste of adventure and sent them on a cultural odyssey that taught them about themselves and each other.

Rob gave Rylan a crash course in art appreciation and Rylan encouraged Rob to get his head out of books and live life to the fullest. Now they’re going to India to take things to the next level.

On their second outing for BBC Arts, filmed in 2024, the pair follow in the footsteps of Rob’s favourite author E.M. Forster, who a century ago wrote A Passage to India and changed the way the world saw the country. As they embark on their own passage to India and discover how the country’s ancient wisdom, art and culture can challenge them both personally, intellectually and physically.

Rob Rinder says: “Following in the footsteps of my literary hero E.M. Forster and being in India gifted me the sense of being more alive - it’s been a beautiful experience. I still can’t believe that I had to walk barefoot through Varanasi to find spiritual enlightenment while Rylan went to a yoga class, but what I’ve taken from the art and the people here has changed my life.”

Rylan says: “I’m still amazed by the response we had for Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour, and now that we’re BAFTA winners (!) I wanted to experience a culture that I really didn’t know that much about. I genuinely didn’t know if I could handle it, but there’s something gorgeous about the chaos - everything is a walking, breathing piece of art. And you have to go around the cow.”

Alistair Pegg, commissioning editor for Arts at the BBC, says: “Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour was enjoyed by millions of us last year, and their BAFTA win last night just shows what an appetite there is for arts and culture that is accessible for all our audiences. So we’re delighted that the boys have decided to go one better with a trip to India, which will reveal the depth of the country’s art and culture, and challenge them as never before.”

Lana Salah, Executive Producer for Rex, says: “Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour of Italy wasn’t just life changing, it turned them into BAFTA winners. But the boys’ new trip to India took things to another level and I can’t wait for audiences to discover, not just a new side of India but of Rob and Rylan too. India’s unique take on life and death, family, love and sex, taught the pair how to see the world differently and gave them answers on how to improve their own lives.”

Rob and Rylan’s Passage to India (3x60) is produced by Rex, a Zinc Media Company, for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. The Executive Producer is Lana Salah. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Suzy Klein and Alistair Pegg.