Travel Man: 48 Hours In - Madrid, Spain - 07:10 am Sunday, December 28 on U&Dave

About this Broadcast

Madrid, Spain
Season 9, Episode 4

Richard Ayoade and comedian Ellie Taylor head to the Spanish capital for a two-day break, following an itinerary rich in art, history, histrionics and ham. The pair go on a guided tour in which they view masterpieces by Bosch, Velasquez, Picasso and Dali, before they attend a ham-carving workshop and a sample a five-course tasting menu, of which four courses are pork or ham, including a tartare dish. They also take in a lively boating lake, a circus church and a grisly tour of the Spanish Inquisition

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Leisure Hobbies Tourism/Travel

Did You Know..

Richard Ayoade (Presenter)

Best Known For: The IT Crowd.

Early-life: Born Richard Ellef Ayoade on June 12, 1977, in London. His mother is Norwegian, his father Nigerian, and Richard is their only child. The family left the capital when he was young and settled in Ipswich. He was interested in film from an early age, and wrote plays and sketches while still at school before landing a place at Cambridge to study law, where he met David Mitchell and joined the famous Footlights group. On leaving university he spent two years writing for TV sketch shows and attempting to become a stand-up comedian.

Career: Ayoade's breakthrough came when he and Matthew Holness created fictional horror author Garth Merenghi; a stage show featuring the character won the Perrier Award, which was followed by the Channel 4 series Garth Merenghi's Darkplace. Ayoade went on to appear in The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley, Bunny and the Bull, and The IT Crowd. He made his big-screen directorial debut with the acclaimed Submarine (which he also wrote, adapting it from the novel by Joe Dunthorne), and has since directed The Double as well as numerous music videos for acts such as the Arctic Monkeys, Super Furry Animals, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kasabian. He's was a team captain on Channel 4 panel show Was It Something I Said? and took over as host of Gadget Man from Stephen Fry.

Quote: "I find performing very difficult. It's difficult to be a good actor. I get very nervous, even though it sounds disingenuous, because you could legitimately go, 'Well, why do it?'"

Trivia: Here's Ayoade's tips for aspiring directors: "Try not to get depressed. You need to be healthy so don't get a cold. Get comfortable shoes because you don't sit down for two months."

Ellie Taylor (Contributor)

Born: November 28, 1983 in Basildon, Essex

Best Known For: Presenting Song Marry Avoid?.

Early-life: Born on November 28, 1983 in Basildon, Essex. Ellie studied English Literature at the University of York.

Career: Taylor's TV appearances include episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats, Greatest Tweets 2011, Big Brother's Bit on the Side and Show Me the Funny. She began presenting BBC Three's Snog Marry Avoid? in 2012, taking over from Jenny Frost. Following this, she was a team leader on comedy panel show Fake Reaction and she appeared in an episode of Family Tree. In 2014, she appeared on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Now! and she has since appeared on Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo and The Nightly Show. Taylor also acted in such series as Brotherhood and The Lodge. Aside from her TV appearances, Taylor has also been building her live stand up career. She performed her debut stand up show, Elliementery, in 2014.

Quote: "Lots of people do stand up shows with no narrative but I love a beginning, a middle and an end."

Trivia: She won Company Magazine's Lady HaHa title in 2011.

Nicola Silk (Producer)

Chris Richards (Series producer)