James May, 62, fumes ‘suck it up’ as he takes aim at media’s ‘woeful’ VE Day 80 coverage: ‘Britain would’ve fallen!’
James May has taken to social media to voice his disappointment at a rather glaring omission in the nation’s VE Day 80 coverage.
On Thursday, May 8, media outlets and members of the public marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a series of events to remember the historic day that brought World War II to a close.
Naturally, coverage was dominated by clips of heroic veterans, tributes to the brave who lost their lives, reflections on the state of Britain since, and, of course, the waving of the Union Jack flag.
However, according to former Top Gear star May, there was one feature missing from the day – the Hawker Hurricane.
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter jet deployed throughout World War II as Winston Churchill’s men fought off their enemies.
But it hasn’t had fair representation, May says. He wrote on X: “The Hawker Hurricane is woefully absent from VE Day imagery.
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“Remember that, without it, Britain would have fallen and not been available as a launch-pad for the invasion.
“It’s that simple. Suck it up, Spitfire fanbois. And gals. Repeat please.” (sic)
His strongly-worded rant garnered plenty of attention from his followers, including I’m A Celebrity star Reverend Richard Coles, who replied: “Totally on side with this…”
Elsewhere, other followers were in agreement, with one weighing in: “Disservice to a great plane. Hurricane will not be forgotten!”
“Absolutely, the Hawker Hurricane was a beast in the Battle of Britain, downing roughly 60% of German plane,” a second agreed.
“It carried the lion’s share of the fight, proving its critical role in saving Britain. #HurricaneHeroes #VEDay #WW2”
A third concurred: “The Hawker Hurricane did most of the heavy lifting during the Battle of Britain, shameful if you ask me.”
And a fourth echoed: “Too right. I’ve missed the Hurricane lately. Too long an absence as well. Hoping it’ll be back for Royal Air Tattoo this year.” (sic)
May may have caused quite a stir with his VE Day observation, but he wasn’t the only Grand Tour star to hit headlines on Thursday.
His former co-star Jeremy Clarkson, 64, decided to share the first trailer for the upcoming series of his hit Amazon series, Clarkson’s Farm.
Now in its fourth season, the upcoming new episodes show the former Top Gear star get to grips with keeping things afloat at his Oxfordshire farm, as well as tackling the unenviable task of running his own pub.
There are returns for Clarkson’s Farm fan-favourites such as Charlie Ireland, Lisa Hogan and Kaleb Cooper, but also a welcome cameo from May and Clarkson’s right-hand man, Richard Hammond.
Hammond appears in the season four trailer, marking the first time one of Clarkson’s former Top Gear co-stars has joined him on the show.
There’s also big news for fans of the show as Clarkson introduces a new member of staff to help him at Diddly Squat while Cooper takes on work projects away from the farm.
Meanwhile, May is gearing up for a series of live stage shows titled Explorers – The Age of Discovery.
The 62-year-old will take his show to Australia in July before touring across Oceania and Asia, eventually arriving for a UK leg of the tour in September.