Former Top Gear presenter James May is worried about “desperately needing a wazz” during a live TV show about the car industry.

He is teaming up with Kate Humble and car designer Ant Anstead on Building Cars Live, which will broadcast from one of the country’s busiest motor manufacturers next week.

James May, Kate Humble and car designer Ant Anstead
James May, Kate Humble and car designer Ant Anstead (BBC)

Two 90-minute live episodes will focus on the work of BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford, where a car is built every 67 seconds.

James, who will be surrounded by more than 1,300 robots – one of which is nicknamed Jurassic Park – is worried about having a sudden urge to go to the toilet.

Asked what he thought the biggest risk is in doing a live show like this, he joked: “Not knowing what we’re talking about.”

The petrolhead added that the production line generally only stops for a second and any longer than a minute is fairly rare – meaning there are unlikely to be any awkward moments due to failing technology.

James May
James May (BBC)

“So that shouldn’t trip us up too badly … or else desperately needing a wazz during the live … I’m getting quite old,” he said.

James said he is used to asking people to keep quiet or to turn off loud machinery when he is making television programmes – but this time it will be the other way round due to how “minutely managed” the factory is.

“They will be saying to us ‘can you stop making that TV programme because we’re trying to build some bloody cars here?’” he said.

The programme will be dictated by the “beat” of the factory, he added.

Meanwhile, last week James’s former Top Gear colleague Jeremy Clarkson revealed that he, James and Richard Hammond have begun filming Amazon Prime’s new motoring show.

The trio left the hit BBC show earlier this year, and signed a “very, very, very expensive” deal to make a car-themed programme with the online streaming service.

Building Cars Live is on BBC Two at 7.30pm on Tuesday October 20 and Wednesday October 21.