Last Sunday (December 28th), BBC TV in the UK aired "The Real Italian Job: James Martin's Mille Miglia" where the chef - a true petrolhead - decided to make a dream reality and take part in the gruelling, 1000 mile Italian race (on open, public roads!) from Brescia to Rome and back again.

To qualify for the event, cars need to be dated between 1927 and 1957, and also need to be rather special (so Ferraris, Bugattis, Maseratis, and so on). As part of the preparation for the event, James called on two-time Mille Miglia racer Nick Mason for his advice. The BBC's iPlayer service has the show available for three more days via www.BBC.co.uk/iplayer or via Virgin Media's digital cable service. (Thanks to Jason Pyke for the head's up!)