James May says 'I've failed' as he addresses life after Top Gear and Grand Tour

Television personalityJames May has said he has failed at retirement as he addresses his life after Top Gear and The Grand Tour.

James, 62, formed one part of the famous automotive trio alongside Jeremy Clarkson andRichard Hammond that helped define an era of television. In recent months, James has spoken more about the projects he’s working on following the end of The Grand Tour.

Speaking to The i he joked that he’d been thinking about his retirement since he was a teenager, but admitted that he’s currently having the busiest year of his working life for a long time.

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He told the publication: “I've failed at retirement. I've been thinking about my retirement since I was a teenager: 2025 was going to be my trial retirement year, but I've been accepted to speak at a couple of history festivals and charity events."

He added: “I've got two TV series, and then I'm doing a live show in Australia, New Zealand and around the UK. This is the busiest year I've had for about a decade. I haven't had a day off in months.”

Whilst James has been continuing to make television series, his former co presenters Richard and Jeremy have also been busy. Jeremy has re-invented himself as a farmer with the launch of Diddly Squat farm and the subsequent Clarkson’s Farm series. This Amazon Prime endeavour has seen Jeremy, 65, raise the profile of farmers nationwide.

However, Jeremy has also been exposed to the realities of farming and the impact of the weather on farmers, something that has begun affecting his Cotswolds farm, reports the Standard.

Speaking at the Hawkstone Summer Party at his pub The Farmer’s Dog, he said: “I mean, if there are any farmers here, they'd tell you the same thing.

“Last year, it was the second worst recorded ever, and we think this year is going to be even worse because it just hasn't rained.”

Whilst Jeremy has been running his farm, Richard, 55, has launched his own classic car repair shop. Earlier this year he announced the sad news that his father had passed away during an episode of a podcast he co-hosts with his daughter Izzy.

He told guest Dr T: “I have to say quite early on that since we spoke to Professor Green [for the podcast] and since then, we've lost my father, Izzy's grandfather. He died. Probably both of us are undergoing change right now.

“I’ve noticed that since we lost my dad I don’t wander around daily in a cloud of… there was tremendous grief, of course there was, he was my dad, but it’s kind of in the background.”

“And when it hits me is when I’m pottering about doing something often inconsequential, or thinking about something big, my brain has already formed the thought, ‘oh, I must tell dad’.”