Paul Merton in India is a television show broadcast on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom and Fox History & Entertainment in India. The first episode was aired on 8 October 2008. It follows comedian Paul Merton as he travels around India. The series was commissioned after the success of the previous series Paul Merton in China. Merton travelled around various places in India, sampling various offbeat and out of the normal aspects of India. It was broadcast on Fox History & Entertainment in India. AXS TV broadcasts the program for American TV viewers.
Paul Merton in India (Season 1)
Delhi (Episode 1)
Air date: 2008-10-08
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Beginning in Delhi, Paul enjoys a course in etiquette before taking a ride on a stationary plane and finding out about the city’s street monkeys. Elsewhere in India, he visits a temple devoted to rats and participates in a huge religious ceremony.
The Punjab (Episode 2)
Air date: 2008-10-15
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Paul heads north to Punjab, a place fabled for living life the ‘king-size’ way. Once there, he meets a group of dancing policemen; attends a cricket match for the blind; visits a prosthetic-limb clinic; and falls in with a gang of racketeering eunuchs.
North East,Kolkata and Kerala (Episode 3)
Air date: 2008-10-22
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Paul Merton continues his fascinating tour of India. In this episode, Paul lets his hair down in the self-proclaimed ‘rock city’ of India; visits a centre for the children of prostitutes in Kolkata; and samples the laid-back countryside of Kerala in south India.
Hyderabad and Bangalore (Episode 4)
Air date: 2008-10-29
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: The comedian visits Hyderabad to see the world's largest tricycle and meet some of the area's snake catchers. He also takes a trip to a Bangalore, where he visits a prison so well known for its excellent food that released prisoners ask to be sent back in, and watches a man try to set world records in skipping, thread winding and disc throwing.
Mumbai (Episode 5)
Air date: 2008-11-05
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Paul Merton’s fascinating tour of India comes to an end. In this episode, Paul meets the children who live in Mumbai’s central station; discovers the joys of ‘Mollywood’ cinema; endures past-life regression therapy; and meets an exceptionally dedicated record breaker.
