TV preview: The Real Marigold Hotel

Did The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel leave you longing to follow in Dame Judi Dench's footsteps, and flee to India for your golden years?
Sylvester McCoy, Bobby George, Wayne Sleep, Rosemary Shrager, Miriam Margolyes, Jan Leeming, Roy Walker and Patti Boulaye.Sylvester McCoy, Bobby George, Wayne Sleep, Rosemary Shrager, Miriam Margolyes, Jan Leeming, Roy Walker and Patti Boulaye.
Sylvester McCoy, Bobby George, Wayne Sleep, Rosemary Shrager, Miriam Margolyes, Jan Leeming, Roy Walker and Patti Boulaye.

Released in 2001, the film saw a number of retired people head to what they believe is a newly renovated establishment, where they can enjoy their remaining years in exotic luxury.

Inspired by the success of the film, and its 2015 sequel, BBC Two is airing a three-part documentary, which sees eight familiar-faced senior citizens travel 4,000 miles to Jaipur. For three weeks, Miriam Margolyes, Wayne Sleep, Rosemary Shrager, Roy Walker, Bobby George, Jan Leeming, Sylvester McCoy and Patti Boulaye set up at home at a “haveli” (a private mansion), and embrace the culture.

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Blackadder actress Margolyes says: “I really liked my fellow travellers; I marvelled at their talents.

“It was an incredible experience. In one day, we visited both the slums and the palace of the royal family in Jaipur.

“I would hope that Brits can marvel at the range and sophistication of the various Indian cultures. It’s a complex and majestic country, with many languages, great literature and in the 19th century, a shared history. I can never have enough of India. I long to return.”

The Real Marigold Hotel, BBC2, Tuesday, 9pm.

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