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Airdate: The Indian Dream Hotel

Miriam Margolyes, Sylvester McCoy & Rosemary Shrager amongst 6 Brits who head to India to see if it is a better place to retire than the UK.

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Next Tuesday ABC premieres The Indian Dream Hotel, a 3 part factual series featuring UK celebrities heading to India to explore whether they can have a more fulfilling retirement than in Britain.

The series features actor Miriam Margolyes, dancer Wayne Sleep, actor Sylvester McCoy, comedian
Roy Walker, chef Rosemary Shrager, darts champion Bobby George, singer Patti Boulaye, and ex-news
reader Jan Leeming.

This is narrated by Tom Hollander.

As they take over a mansion in Jaipur, they discuss who will cook and clean and how they’ll get around and spend their time. Initially they’re unsettled by the realities of life in India: hectic roads, animals in the street, and poor toilet facilities. The heat and hard work has them considering whether they can do this alone or need to take advantage of cheap staff costs. Miriam keeps their spirits up with her great one-liners and fun observations.

Jaipur has hundreds of years of history, and they head out to one of its impressive buildings – the 500 year old Amer Fort. Their guide shows them his home nearby and they begin to understand the gulf between rich and poor and the impact of the caste system. And then, they’re invited to tea with Jaipur’s royal family at the opulent Rambagh Palace where they get to mix with high society.

Wayne explores his spiritual side by attending the daily morning prayers and visiting the beautiful Galti Ji temple which is also home to a troop of monkeys, while Rosemary, finding it hard to unwind, tries meditation for the first time.

To end their first week, as they begin to feel at home, they throw a party and perform for their new neighbours.

8:30pm Tuesday May 10 on ABC.

4 Responses

  1. I wonder why they changed the name, the original UK one sounds better to me.

    Maybe this show will be only enjoyed by people “of a certain age”. I know I loved it, and Miriam Margolyes was hilarious and nowhere near as obnoxious as the critics said.

  2. I watched this earlier in the year. I thought it was badged as ‘The Real Marigold Hotel’ in the UK? Good viewing, for Indo-philes especially.

    Of course, the premise is entirely misleading. There is no retirement visa for India, so you can only stay 180 days at a time, and buying property for a foreigner is next to impossible.

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