The Last Overland
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Request a screening link →A 21,000km journey from Singapore to London in a historic Land Rover. A four-part documentary series following an extraordinary expedition across 23 countries.
Grammar Productions’ obvious eye for creativity generated some wonderful and inspiring content, from videos and photography to the written word. Wherever they trotted around the world, headlines were sure to follow. It was a pleasure to work with them.
21,000km, 23 countries and one very old car...
In 1955, six young graduates from Oxford & Cambridge set out to make history by being the first to drive 19,000 miles overland from London to Singapore. Many had tried, all had failed. But after six months of hard slog this team finally made it, and a bedazzled young BBC producer, David Attenborough, commissioned a TV series to share their incredible adventure with a post-war-weary British public. The book written about the journey – The First Overland – has never been out of print, and has inspired generations of adventurers since.
The Last Overland is the epic tale of when Grammar Productions set out to recreate this iconic journey, widely regarded as one of the most iconic and challenging road journeys of the 20th century. Accompanied by original First Overlander Tim Slessor and behind the wheel of the very same car that made the record-breaking trip more than 60 years previously, this time we would be driving the other way, starting our journey in Singapore and bringing the beloved blue Land Rover Series 1 “Oxford” home to London.
What followed was an audacious, madcap and heart-warming adventure in which absolutely nothing went to plan right from the very start...
"A marvellous piece of history." BBC News
Dubbed “the mother of all road trips”, the Last Overland is now a major four-part documentary series and book. It first aired on Channel 4 in September 2022, and has since been shown on screens across the world, including SBS Viceland in Australia, Kabel Eins Doku (Germany), Canal+ (France), and in Canada, Singapore, Vietnam and more via BBC Earth.
The Last Overland book was shortlisted for Travel Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2023, named one of Waterstones’ Best Travel Books of 2022, and was nominated for two Royal Automobile Club Motoring Book of the Year Awards for 2023: Best Debut Author and Best Book Under £50. The paperback version of the Last Overland book was published in July 2023.
"This is a fabulous adventure - reckless, insanely ambitious and filled with sweat, tears and laughter... irresistible reading. An immense challenge and a thrilling true story." - Joanna Lumley
"Epic." The Financial Times
From the production
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Planning a journey worth filming
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