100 Year Old Driving School

In this first episode, we meet a fascinating cast of characters still driving in their 80s, 90s and even 100s. In rural Wiltshire, 102-year-old veteran Royal Naval Officer John Errol Manners has successfully cheated death three times before, so is relaxed about his date with destiny when his RoSPA assessor arrives. John likes to drive on the other side of the road so as to "see the oncoming traffic better" and his family eagerly wait for the result of the assessment.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents' HQ in this episode is a busy biker cafe in Surrey. 95-year-old John William Quince arrives to take his first-ever driving test, but can he prove to his children that he's ready to drive on the correct side of the road? Further afield, Jock Stares - who is in love with life on two wheels - celebrates his 101st birthday in the Gower Peninsula in Wales and 94-year-old Robert Holt battles London traffic to commute to work.

This week, the national campaign is back in the picturesque village of Thornton Le Dale in Yorkshire. Jill Hartley, aged 91, arrives in her modern classic car and is looking forward to an honest assessment - is she is good as she thinks she is? At the other end of the country, Don Showell also faces a date with destiny. At 101 years of age, the self-confessed “petrol head” loves nothing more than taking his beloved wife Joanie, also 101, for a spin around the back lanes of Devon. Joanie worries that Don can’t help driving too near the left and hugging the corners, but Don is determined to prove her wrong. Plus, there’s 96-year old Peggy Woolfe in Bournemouth, who relies on her car to get to tennis, table tennis and bowls, but her daughter is concerned about her driving.

This week, RoSPA have set-up campaign HQ at Hicks Gate fire station in Bristol, and watching their endeavours are a bemused set of fire fighters. First up to take his first ever driving test is former army major John Hamilton, now in his 100th year. A self-taught driver who first drove a Bren Gun Carrier, John thinks of himself as a capable driver: “half the accidents I’ve had have been other people’s fault”, but it’s a rocky start when he mounts the curb within the first few seconds of his assessment. Elsewhere, 100-year old Geoffrey Gillow has a point to prove to his daughter who wants him to stop driving, and we also meet 91-year old Alfie Harris in Wolverhampton, who must now take the big decision on whether the time has come to hand in his keys.