Rylan Clark and Rob Rinder to team up for new BBC travel show exploring Italy

Rylan Clark and Rob Rinder are set to star in a new BBC travel show which will see them explore the art and culture Italy has to offer.

The three-part BBC Two series will see the TV personalities follow in the footsteps of the romantic poet Lord Byron and English aristocrats who took on the Grand Tour, a classic trip through Europe popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

With a working title of Rob And Rylan’s Grand Tour, the series will see them visit artistic treasures in Venice, Florence and Rome.

Starting their journey in Venice, the pair will explore artistic masterpieces of the city from Tintoretto to Canaletto as well as discovering how gay men in the 18th century found freedom at the city’s famous Carnival.

Clark and Rinder will also try to learn Venetian painting techniques and glass blowing.

In Florence, they will delve into the Renaissance artistic period including classic pieces like Botticelli’s Venus.

Their last stop will be in Rome, where they will explore the classical ruins, recreate Baroque masterpieces and channel their inner operatic divas at a rooftop performance.

They will also be marking the 200th anniversary of Byron’s death by referring to the poet’s poems and letters about his Grand Tour alongside the diaries of others who made the trip.

Along the journey, the duo will be learning what it was to be be a Grand Tourist, trying flamboyant Italian looks, fencing, dancing and romancing.

Clark said: “When I found out that Rob and I actually get to go travelling around Italy for the Grand Tour, I couldn’t have packed my suitcase quicker.

“We’re not going to be your typical Brits abroad though as we properly immerse ourselves in all of Italy’s cultural offerings.

“Rob will be teaching me all about Italian history and art as we follow in the footsteps of the cultural greats, while I show Rob how to dance on bars.

“This series is going to be eye-opening, interesting and I bet we’ll have a laugh or two along the way.”

The TV presenter, 34, previously co-hosted Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two but stepped down from the role earlier this year.

He was also among one of the BBC’s commentators for the recent Eurovision Song Contest and hosts a Saturday Radio 2 show.

TV personality and criminal barrister Rinder said he cannot wait to “get stuck in” to seeing some of the “finest things” Italy has to offer.

“The Grand Tour is iconic, especially as we’ll be following in the footsteps of some of history’s biggest cultural contributors”, he added.

“While Rylan and I almost certainly have different intentions for our trip, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather do this journey with.”

Rinder rose to fame as the formidable Judge Rinder on his eponymous ITV reality courtroom show, and later went on to host Channel 4 series The Rob Rinder Verdict.

Alistair Pegg, commissioning editor for arts at the BBC, said: “I can’t think of two funnier, warmer, more entertaining travelling companions for a trip through the glories of the Grand Tour than Rob and Rylan.

“Viewers are going to get a totally new perspective on some of the wonders of Italian art and culture in their hands, and I’m looking forward to the journey with them.”