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Entertainer Lionel Blair, wildlife presenter Bill Oddie, actress Amanda Barrie, snooker champion Dennis Taylor, TV personality Rustie Lee, TV doctor Miriam Stoppard, Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson and Just Good Friends actor Paul Nicholas arrive at their new home, a 16th-century mansion in Old Kochi. Sheila is keen to make sure she gets what she wants out of the experience, but Lionel finds dealing with the realities of living in India unsettling - the animals in the street, the more basic way of life and the piles of rubbish that can distract from the beauty. Paul, Bill and Dennis rise to the challenge with humour and classic one-liners, and Rustie and Miriam seem charmed by their first days here. The group then head off to visit the world-famous backwaters, hundreds of miles of waterways that criss-cross through the villages and jungles, on traditional houseboats.

The gang continue to settle into Indian life and, for Amanda Barrie's birthday, attend some local theatre performances. Unfortunately, a yoga session triggers Amanda's vertigo, but Kochi has one of the most advanced hospitals in the country. Lionel Blair, who has also had health issues over the years, investigates Ayurveda, an alternative medicine, while Bill Oddie takes a wildlife trip into the jungle and reveals how exploring the natural world has helped with his mental health problems. Finally, everyone sets off to visit one of India's most spectacular temples - but the journey involves a 13-hour overnight train and a very hairy taxi ride.

Amanda and Rustie visit a local hair salon and meet a bride-to-be getting styled for her big day. The bride invites them to her wedding, so the whole group go to buy traditional clothes, with hilarious consequences. The group attend the Hindu ceremony in their Indian finery despite some wardrobe malfunctions on the way. They are blown away by the spectacle and the importance of family in an Indian marriage union and are touched by how welcome they are made to feel. After the emotion of the wedding, Sheila reflects on her own love life, revealing that since the sudden death of her partner she has been single for eight years. She announces that she is ready to start dating again and realises the only thing that would definitely convince her to make a big move to living in India would be a man. Miriam and Lionel, who are both Jewish, discover Old Kochi has a surprising connection to their heritage in an area called Jew Town. A visit to the synagogue makes Miriam reflect on the huge impact her own marriage had on her family when she chose to marry outside of the Jewish faith. As a result, her father declared she was dead to him and refused to speak to her for many years. Their tour guide invites them to his home, where Miriam discovers his own painful story of love has striking similarities to hers. Bill takes half the group along to one of the biggest festivals in Kerala, Puli Kali, which celebrates the tiger. He ends up volunteering to take part, which means stripping off and having his belly shaved and painted as a tiger, before dancing down the streets amongst a throng of thousands. It is an experience that cements his love for India. An invitation to one of the premier members-only clubs in Kerala, the Yacht Club, gives the group a chance to meet up with successful locals and ends in the offer of a dinner date for Sheila.

Half of the group visit the dramatic hill stations of the Nilgiri mountains, but the drive involves a treacherous climb that has them on the edge of their seats. Dennis and Paul complete the journey by steam train, arriving in Ooty, the town where snooker was invented. Bill takes Rustie and Miriam on a wildlife walk in the tea plantations. They are all glad of the cooler climate after the humidity of Old Kochi. Sheila, Amanda and Lionel attend a Hindu ancestor ceremony, held to remember departed loved ones. Sheila then goes on a flat hunt with her daughter, who is visiting from Dubai, while the others look at a new phenomenon in India - retirement villages. With the end of their trip approaching, the group hold a final party to thank everyone they have met during their stay.