Joanna Lumley's India

Joanna Lumley’s India (Wednesday, ITV, 9pm) sees the actress coming home, for she was born on the subcontinent, the fourth generation of a Raj family, but left a year later at the moment of independence. Her parents had always insisted it’s impossible to know India properly, but as she returns, Lumley is on a determined mission to prove them wrong and devour every possible experience over this three-part travelogue.

Journeying a total of 5,000 miles across a land of more than a billion people, she dips into the ocean at the southernmost tip and ascends to the heights of the himalayas. She is awestruck by the plethora of Hindu gods captured in magical ancient sculptures, and exhibits world- class gawping at the wondrous sight of a herd of elephants stumbling through the trees in the wild. But what makes Lumley such good company and a first-rate traveller is her eye for the little things and the way she subscribes to the ethos of ‘when in Rome…’ Note the delight with which she disdains cutlery and scoffs up handfuls of rice along with her other vegetarian diners, modestly declaring: ‘I’m not doing it properly, but watch people here doing it. So skilful and lovely.’

Blessed with an insatiable curiosity for the lives of others, Lumley meets maharajahs, millionaires, the untouchables and the transgender women of Calcutta, and we’re truly privileged to be joining her on an unforgettable adventure.

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