James R | On 06, Apr 2017

To binge-watch or binge-eat? That is the question this week, as Sky serves up The Trip to Spain as a full box set.

The BAFTA-nominated comedy series, now in its third season, follows Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, as they go on a culinary odysset – this time, as you might have guessed, across Spain.

Playing fictionalised versions of themselves, their gastonomic road trip is as self-aware as ever, with director and creator Michael Winterbottom on hand to capture half-improvised conversations about life, love and luscious cuisine with an intimacy that makes everything feel a little too close to real life to be scripted.

The Trip takes Steve and Rob from Cantabria to the Basque region, Aragon, Rioja, Castile-La Mancha and Andalusia – each destination tastier, and more awkward, than the last.

“Having thought long and hard about yet another sojourn into culinary distractions and middle age, I have reluctantly agreed to Eviva Espana,” says Coogan. “I have a hole in my diary, there will be free food and accommodation and Rob Brydon is surprisingly good company. I also like Michael.”

Episode 1 stops off at acclaimed restaurant Txoko, with Steve and Rob following in the footsteps of Don Quixote and poet and novelist Laurie Lee. Disembarking from the ferry at Santander and taking in the Cave of Altamira before visiting the picturesque port of Getaria, they dish up free-flowing conversation and in-car singalongs – not to mention a string of impressions that ranges from Michael Caine to, best of all, Mick Jagger.

That premieres at 10pm on Sky Atlantic on Thursday 6th April, with Episode 2 following the Thursday after, as Steve and Rob head through the Basque Country to Etxebarri – a Michelin-starred restaurant close to Bilbao. Abba and explanation of the Welsh word for carrot are the icing on the cake. Can’t wait for seven days for your next helping? The good news is you don’t have to: the whole of The Trip to Spain is now available to watch on-demand all-at-once through Sky Box Sets. Don’t have Sky? You can also stream it all through NOW, Sky’s contract-free subscription service, which costs £8.99 a month.

For a taster of what’s in store, here’s a clip of one of Episode 1’s best bits. To binge on the whole thing, hit the button below.

 

 

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