±«Óãtv

James May is a man on a mission: he wants to get kids out of their bedrooms and away from their games consoles, he wants to drag parents off their backsides and get them all playing together again.

In James May's Toy Stories on ±«Óãtv Two, he is going to take some of Britain's best-loved toys and put generations of families at the heart of some ludicrously ambitious adventures that will remind us all of the joys of making something together, with toys that have long captured the imagination.

Proving the best toys don't always need batteries, James's madcap toy adventures will see him using some of the best-loved toys of our generation, and reminding everyone that there's a big kid in all of us.

In each episode James and his team will be faced with a new toy challenge.

These include:

Attempting to build the world's first full-size house made entirely out of Lego bricks: he'll even try and plumb in and fearlessly road test a Lego loo, take a dip in a Lego bath and rest his weary head in a giant Lego bed...

Creating a Plasticine garden – and entering his colourful fantasy for the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. From the flowerbeds to the paths and the plants, James will use all 24 colours to make his fantasy come true...

Attempting to build a full size model Spitfire. Once built, he'll literally stop traffic as he navigates through narrow streets to its grand unveiling...

James also hopes to pit a Scalextric car against a taxi in a 1.6 mile race through a busy town centre...

He and his family of helpers are planning to build a lifesize bridge made entirely out of Meccano in one of Britain's most historic university cities – a world first; James will employ structural engineers as they get him to personally test the pressure point of his bridge...

And he hopes to build the world's greatest model train set to link two villages who have long since lost their railway.

James says: "For too long now we have regarded the great toys as mere playthings. It's time to use them to bring people together and achieve greatness. And I bet it'll be a right laugh as well."

The series was commissioned for ±«Óãtv Two by Mark Linsey, Controller of Entertainment Commissioning, who says: "It will be exciting to see whether James can carry out each challenge he hopes to or whether this time he has taken on more than he can handle. Whatever the outcome, this series promises to be must see viewing that the whole family can enjoy."

The series will be Executive Produced for the ±«Óãtv by Mirella Breda and for Plum Pictures by Will Daws (Equator, Power To The People) and Stuart Cabb (who oversaw Louis Theroux's return to ±«Óãtv Two).

AN