Three couples hit the road on a mad-cap jaunt from London to Monte Carlo to discover the genius, glory and grub of France in this brand-new series for ITV1.

Paired up to embark on this travel adventure are Jack Dee and Ade Edmondson, in a VW camper van, Jodie Kidd and Julian Clary, in a Bentley convertible and Penny Smith and Rory McGrath, in a union jack bedecked MINI Cooper.

But this is no simple holiday; the couples are in competition to get under the skin of France and discover what makes our closest neighbour tick. As their journeys unfold taking in the stunning French countryside, winding around breath-taking mountains and cruising along the coastal roads the couples are tasked with collecting a total of three items that best represent the head, heart and stomach of each of the regions they are passing through.

The intrepid explorers are followed as they each find their own route through France and at the end of each stage of their journey they are judged on what they have learned and collected along the way. The overall winners are revealed in the stunning setting of Monte Carlo in Monaco.

In the first episode, the teams set off from Trafalgar Square and travel through Northern France on their way to Paris............
ITV1 Thursday, October 28th, 2010 9:00pm to 10:00pm

Monte Carlo or Bust is produced and directed by Andrew Fettis. The executive producers are Richard Cowles and Griff Rhys Jones.

Saw the advert for this yesterday, it's a chilli red cooper s clubman or hatch, couldn't quite tell from the short clip. Looks to be quite a good programme.

I saw this in the tv mag, neeeed to watch it it's a JCW hatch I think Nik

Yes looks like a JCW to me from short clip!
Could be interesting!

in the advert i think i saw to different ones one jcw clubbie and a rr56 cooper also in red but with a union jack roof decal

i wonder if it has any mods lol

yeah good point lol