Rob Brydon's Honky Tonk Road Trip review proof that he doesn't need Steve Coogan for a fun travelogue

"While the Euro-hopping reality competition Destination X might not have been the Traitors-rivalling summer smash the BBC were hoping for, it did give host Rob Brydon a lovely glow-up. The convoluted coach trip clearly wanted to give off a jet-setting vibe, so its master of ceremonies was outfitted in deluxe tailoring: boldly coloured three-piece suits, silky cravats and yacht-ready blazers. All of a sudden, Brydon had the debonair look to match his vintage Roger Moore impression."

"His latest three-part series, Rob Brydon's Honky Tonk Road Trip, also features some Mr Benn-style thematic wardrobe. The genial Welshman goes full Yellowstone cowpoke in a parade of flannel shirts, rugged jackets and the occasional Stetson hat. It's all part of a premise that sees him piloting an imposing Ford Ranger pickup truck on a 2,000-mile circuit of the southern US for a crash course in country music."

"We know Brydon is up for a road trip and a chinwag thanks to the various incarnations of The Trip with Steve Coogan. But at first he seems unsure if he is truly qualified to be our guide. Watching him confide to a dashboard-mounted camera certainly brings back beta male memories of Keith, the sad-sack cabby from Brydon's TV breakthrough, Marion & Geoff. En route to Nashville, he phones his Gavin & Stacey co-star Ruth Jones for a pep talk. She reminds him that he has some genuine country bona fides: their 2009"

Rob Brydon adopts a stylish wardrobe transformation that ranges from boldly coloured three-piece suits and silky cravats to flannel shirts, rugged jackets and Stetsons. A prior Euro-hopping reality competition, Destination X, gave him a glow-up with jet-setting tailoring and yacht-ready blazers. He fronts a three-part Honky Tonk Road Trip, driving an imposing Ford Ranger on a 2,000-mile circuit of the southern US to trace country music's roots. The trip marks the centenary of the Nashville radio show that evolved into the Grand Ole Opry and explores country music's rising popularity in the UK linked to Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Post Malone. Brydon mixes conversation with locals, self-aware comic persona and celebrity travelogue conventions.

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