COUNTRY roads!

ROB BRYDON on his rhinestone-encrusted tour around southern America

- IAN MACEWAN

ROB BRYDON'S HONKY TONK ROAD TRIP NEW SUNDAY, 9PM, BBC2 TRAVELOGUE (BOX SET, BBC IPLAYER)

Rob Brydon scored a No 1 hit with a twist on country classic Islands in the Stream, alongside his Gavin & Stacey co-star Ruth Jones, for Comic Relief in 2009. Now, the actor and Destination X host is on a quest across America's southern states to chart the history of the toe-tapping music genre for a new BBC2 travelogue, Rob Brydon's Honky Tonk Road Trip. Here, the Welsh star, 60, guides TV Times through his journey of discovery...

What can we expect from this three-part adventure?

It celebrates 100 years of [country-music radio show] the Grand Ole Opry as well as the popularity of country music. We begin and end in [Tennessee's capital] Nashville, but also go into Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. We look at the music, but also the lifestyle. It's all quite immersive.

Did anything particularly surprise you during filming?