An audience of 2.5 million TV viewers on Sunday night watched Top Gear presenters Paddy McGuinness and Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff exploring Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Airlines flew the BBC Top Gear team to the capital Addis Ababa and on to Gondar in northern Ethiopia earlier this year to film their first road trip together.
The presenters travelled more than 300 miles across some of Ethiopia’s most spectacular scenery, through the Simien Mountains and desert plains to the finishing point at the Danakil depression – said to be the hottest and most inhospitable place on earth.
McGuinness described Ethiopia’s scenery as “unbelievable”, adding: “The roads are a pleasure to drive on, the views are beautiful, and the locals are fantastic. It’s a stunning country.”
Flintoff added: “I’ve been to quite a lot of parts of Africa, but nothing prepared me for how beautiful Ethiopia is. Unbelievable place. It’s absolutely stunning.”
Michael Yohannes, Ethiopian Airlines’ UK country manager, said: “It was a pleasure to work with the BBC Top Gear team and I am delighted that they chose Ethiopia as a place to shoot their first film of the new series.
“We knew the team would love Ethiopia – it has historic natural wonders and very hospitable people. The mountains and huge vistas provide the perfect scenery for the show.”
This is the second BBC programme to showcase the wonders of Ethiopia in June.
The Travel Show produced two films following Tony Giles, a blind backpacker exploring the country.