Clive Myrie will be making a triumphant return to our screens with his new travel series Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure, a celebration of island life and Clive’s own ancestry.
After Clive Myrie's Italian Road Trip, this time he will be travelling to the heart of the Caribbean islands. In Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure, the journalist will be exploring his personal connection with this beautiful part of the world.
In this series, Clive will take viewers on a deep journey across four islands, unearthing his family roots and forging personal connections with each unique location. From the vibrant streets of Cuba to the nightlife of Jamaica, the lush landscapes of the Dominican Republic and the beach paradise of Barbados, Clive will explore it all.
Both of Clive’s parents came to the UK from Jamaica in the early 1960s but he’s only visited on a handful of occasions. He’ll travel in his mum and dad’s footsteps, track down family members he’s never met and spend time with his sister Judith, who recently moved back to Jamaica from the UK.
Here's everything we know about Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure...
Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure release date
Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure started on Monday, May 27 on BBC Two at 6.30pm. The next episode will air on Friday, May 31 at the same time. The show will continue to air on weekday evenings in the same slot for three weeks.
All 15 episodes are now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure locations
Clive will explore his connection to Cuba. He knows one of his granddads spent time there, but beyond that is a bit of family mystery. While Clive’s there he’ll also learn about the indigenous Taino people — some of the first inhabitants of much of the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, where the Afro-Caribbean story begins, Clive will get a birds eye view of the oldest city in the Americas, dive into Dominican Santeria — a heady blend of African and European religious belief — and get hands on in a banana farm.
Finally, in Barbados, Clive will delve into the paradox of this popular tourist destination — the vivid signs of British culture all around, and Barbados’s recent drift away from British influence and the Commonwealth. He’ll join a cliff top retreat with second generation Brits who’ve reversed their parents’ journey and returned to live in the Caribbean, and he’ll be swimming with racehorses.
Here's what happens in each episode...
Episode One - Monday, May 27: The newsreader went on a trip to reconnect with family, explore his heritage and experience the rich mix of cultures that made island life so special. Clive began by meeting up with his sister and exploring the wild beauty of eastern Jamaica, encountering descendants of rebel mountain communities, visiting a high-altitude coffee farm, learning the secrets of jerk pork and bedding down 100ft above the Caribbean Sea.
Episode Two - Tuesday, May 28: In Jamaica's capital city, Clive discovered a new hidden talent when he tried some Dancehall moves. He explored a 19th-century mansion, which told the story of Jamaica's first black millionaire. Clive headed to the school that has produced most of the country's Olympic sprinting talent and sampled a Jamaican-Irish stout punch.
Episode Three - Wednesday, May 29: In Downtown Kingston, Clive brushed up on his Jamaican patois and tried out some popular street food. He caught up with a mural art collective, who have been transforming this district. Clive also checked out a boutique where he got kitted out with some brand-new Downtown threads to look the part for a night out at a reggae club.
Episode Four - Friday, May 31: Clive travels north to the Goldeneye estate, which was once the home of James Bond writer Ian Fleming. This is the creative birthplace of 007, and all 14 of the Bond books were written here. Clive props up the bar at Fleming’s favourite watering hole and enjoys a martini, dives into the water with a group of former fishermen who are saving the island’s coral reef, samples some mouth-watering Rastafarian ‘Ital’ cuisine, and visits a legalised cannabis farm.
Episode Five - Monday, June 3: On the Western tip of Jamaica, Clive meets up with cousins he hasn't seen in decades. In the kitchen, he serves up a classic island dish of curry goat for all the guests. Clive also learns what it takes to harvest Jamaican honey, tries his hand at some unique pottery and makes an emotional return to the primary school his mother taught in before she emigrated to Britain in 1962.
Episode Six - Tuesday, June 4: In Cuba's capital, Clive takes on a potential Olympic champion at one of Havana's legendary boxing gyms. He visits a car mechanic to get under the hood of a classic Chevy and discovers why most cars in Cuba are pre-1959 models. Clive also follows in the footsteps of the Buena Vista Social Club to find out how Cuban rhythms conquered the world.
Episode Seven - Wednesday, June 5: Clive visits the district of Vedado, the most modern and affluent part of Havana. He takes a motorcycle tour with Ernesto Guevara, Che Guevara's son and finds out how to cook a feast under rationing. Plus, Clive stretches himself with a lesson in ballet at Carlos Acosta's school and learns how to make a Cuban cocktail.
Episode Eight - Thursday, June 6: The newsreader heads west of Havana to the stunning Vinales Valley, where he helps Cuban cowboys set up a unique race. Clive also finds out how farmers are fighting back against ever stronger hurricanes, and learns how to roll the perfect cigar.
Episode Nine - Friday, June 7: The newsreader travels 200 miles east of Havana to the historic town of Trinidad. Clive meets the octogenarian carpenter whose skills have contributed to keeping this 16th-century city standing, and learns how to salsa dance with the locals. He also explores the dark history of sugar.
Episode Ten - Saturday, June 8: Clive explores Cuba's oldest city Baracoa, building a traditional bamboo raft to experience how people got around in a place that had no proper road access until the 1960s. He helps prepare a meal at what's thought to be Cuba's only fully vegan restaurant and discovers how the island's indigenous Taíno people survived here against all the odds.
Episode Eleven - Monday, June 10: Clive heads to the west coast of Barbados to find out why the country produces so many great cricketers, before hitting the water to land a Caribbean catch for an island cookout.
Episode Twelve - Tuesday, June 11: Clive heads for the east coast of Barbados to check out the world's oldest rum distillery, he explores the sugar cane fields and the factory floor, before getting the chance to have a sip of the golden produce. He puts a shift in with the hens on an organic family farm and tests out his flexibility alongside British expats with some cliff-top yoga.
Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure host
Clive Myrie is a BBC newsreader who has been the host of Mastermind since 2021.
He revealed why he enjoys travelogues so much outside of the newsroom: "I’ve always been fascinated by cultures and ideas, what it means to be a human being. Whether you’re in Japan or Germany or South Africa or Australia, I've always been interested in that side of the human condition. Part of my personality is quite serious and that's the sort of day job, being a correspondent and a reporter satiates that part of my personality.
"But there is another part of my personality, and anyone who knows me knows I like a laugh and to have fun, enjoy good food, wine, music, art, literature and culture, so to be able to satisfy that other half of my life is brilliant and I get that opportunity when I'm doing these travel series, which is great. As a foreign correspondent, you get to know different countries very well and you have to understand the culture in order to report on that. In a travel series, you get to see another side or another layer to these places and that's brilliant."
Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure trailer
You can watch the trailer below where Clive explores his personal connection to the stunning islands...
Remember that Italian road trip I went on last year? Now join me on a Caribbean Adventure! I’ll be exploring my personal connection to this gorgeous part of the world. Full series from Mon 27th May on BBC Two and @bbciplayer. Head to the bio link @BBCPressOffice for more.See ya! pic.twitter.com/3rTCgk0dZrMay 16, 2024
