Joanna Lumley sets off on one of her most epic voyages yet, a journey through the world’s greatest spice continents to discover the rich tapestry of flavours and cultures which have shaped our world. Touring Indonesia, Zanzibar, India and Madagascar, Joanna explores the centuries-old spice trade in this brand new four-part series of discovery.

Joanna’s spice journey begins in a remote Indonesian island, Banda, which was once the only place on earth where nutmeg grew. Joanna meets a family who make their living from harvesting nutmeg before uncovering the dark history of Banda’s past as well as the charm that led to its A-list appeal.
From there, Joanna’s travels will follow the legendary spice trail to her birthplace, India, in search of a kitchen cupboard staple once known as ‘black gold’. Starting in the majestic ancient city of Hampi, she is invited to a dazzling Hindu festival by a local rock climber before heading onwards to the lush backwaters of Kerala.

The next stop is the African island of Madagascar, travelling overland on the country’s notorious pot-holed roads on the trail of the second most expensive spice in the world, vanilla. Joanna discovers the secrets of the spice from the unique way it’s grown to how it’s dealt on the streets. She searches for gold with a poor gold-mining community and finds out how cacao is used to make some of the world’s best chocolate.

The last leg of Joanna’s spice trail takes her to the vast plains of Wadi Rum in Jordan on the back of a camel, before her journey ends at the one of the great wonders of the world, the ancient city of Petra, to discover how the movement of spices and people still affects the world today.

Produced by Burning Bright Productions.

Episode 1 – Indonesia
Joanna Lumley sets off on one her most epic voyages yet. A journey through the world’s greatest spice continents. In this episode Joanna is heading to a collection of remote Indonesian islands, so small that her first challenge is finding them on the map. The Banda Islands were one the only place on earth where nutmeg grew. Joanna meets a family who make their living from harvesting them, she uncovers the dark history of Banda’s past and discovers that Banda’s charms once attracted A listers, including Mick Jagger. In the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta Joanna finds out what the attraction is of the 200 million clove cigarettes that are smoked in Indonesia every day. She pops into a cool speakeasy bar to taste a cocktail that is all about the spice and ends up discovering a newfound love of Indonesia’s national pop music.

Episode 2 – India
Episode 3 – Madagascar
Episode 4 – Zanzibar & Jordan

The last leg of Joanna Lumley’s journey takes her by dhow to Zanzibar, the spice island of Africa where merchants from around the world have left their mark on the architecture, religion and music. Finally, she travels to Jordan where the spice trail continued on land. She explores the vast plains of Wadi Rum from the back of a camel, meets one of the last nomadic Bedouin families and visits Za’atari refugee camp, home to Jordan’s newest arrivals. Her journey ends at the one of the great wonders of the world, the ancient city of Petra.