117-462: Since 2002, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of the British TV series Top Gear have been released, containing full episodes, compilations, or specially filmed material. Many episodes are not presented as the original broadcast, and are included as either abridged 50 minute versions or "Director's Cuts" with unbroadcast deleted scenes reinstated. Changes to the soundtrack are also common when the original music
234-421: A Ferrari 308 GTB , a 2015 Toyota Mirai , a 2021 Toyota Mirai , Ferrari F430 , Ferrari 458 Italia , 1984 Porsche 911 Turbo , a 2019 Tesla Model S 100D , a 2016 BMW i3 , and a 2005 Porsche Boxster S (which he claims is the first car he has ever purchased new). May currently owns a 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift , a 2018 Alpine A110 , a Fiat Panda , a Volkswagen Polo , a Tesla Model 3 Highland ,
351-452: A Top Gear "Christmas Special", with the last three split into two parts. These specials are listed below: At the end of each autumn series, hosts Clarkson, Hammond, and May presented an award ceremony in which they picked out cars on various aspects. While some were serious, others were meant as jokes against cars that the presenters hated. One award given was to one of the presenters, referred to as "Cock of Year", in which they had conducted
468-412: A Rally-Cross Car". While it stuck to the same format as "Reasonably Priced", it featured a number of changes. The first change was that the interview, conducted with Evans, was much longer, with the celebrities involved discussing what was their favourite car in a certain field and the studio audience voting on which one they preferred. The second change, which was the primary reason for the change in name,
585-439: A Rally-Cross Car". The most negative feedback received for the 23rd series was towards Evans' involvement – his presentation style was largely criticised, along with the lack of chemistry he had with LeBlanc. In addition to feedback, several newspaper articles highlighted the fact that the new series struggled to make reasonable viewing figures, with this partly blamed on its broadcast schedule putting it up against live broadcasts of
702-426: A back-up car would be provided for the celebrity to use to continue practising, and/or to do their timed lap in. Although only one celebrity is involved in this segment, in a number of episodes, including the majority of the eleventh and twenty-third series, it sometimes featured two celebrities taking part, with footage of each timed lap shown one after the other. From the first series to the twenty-second series, when
819-402: A bit like one of those Yes albums from the 1970s where side one is just one track – so we're trying to calm down the prog-rock side. We'll inevitably still have big films, because it's the only way you can enjoy the three of them cocking about together, but they'll be shorter overall, and alongside we'll be inserting two- or three-minute punk songs." The success of the programme soon led to
936-495: A bridge, when Clarkson, seeing an Asian man crossing it, remarked that the bridge "had a slope on it". As a result of these matters, the broadcaster issued a "final warning" against Clarkson. The programme then suffered another incident, when production of its next special in Argentina was dogged by major issues that placed the team at serious risk of harm, as one of the car licence plates had read "H982 FKL" in an alleged reference to
1053-477: A car and another form of transportation – and completing a variety of challenges, mostly with cheap, second-hand cars. In early 2006, the BBC made plans to move the programme's film site from Dunsfold to Enstone, Oxfordshire , in preparation for its eighth series . These were later cancelled, after West Oxfordshire District Council strongly objected to the planned move, on the basis of noise and pollution concerns. As
1170-400: A course specially-designed for the relaunched programme. The programme drew acclaim for its visual and presentation style since its launch, which focused on being generally entertaining to viewers, as well as criticism over the controversial nature of its content. The show was also praised for its occasionally controversial humour and lore existing in not just the automotive community but in
1287-492: A different part of the world for a road trip using second-hand cars, with a number produced to be aired as a Christmas special. Despite growing popularity, an interview made with the Radio Times by Wilman revealed that future programmes would have less time devoted to big challenges, stating the following: "We've looked back at the last two or three runs and noticed that a programme can get swallowed up by one monster film –
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#17328762187511404-441: A direct result, the broadcaster ordered that filming continued at Dunsfold during May of that year, despite having no permit to do so, with the eighth series unveiling a revamped studio set. In addition, the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment was modified with new rules along with a new car, while Hammond included one of his dogs for the series throughout its studio segments, along with a number of films made for this series and
1521-450: A film that had been shown prior to footage of their timed lap, and viewed footage of a practice lap in which Harris tutored them on how to get around the circuit in the new car, before the footage of their timed lap. This was altered slightly in Series 25, with it returning to only one part with the training run still shown. The segment was dropped in Series 29 to maintain social distancing during
1638-413: A lap time in the new car. Up until the eighth series, the rules of the segment were that celebrities were given a set number of laps to do, with the fastest amongst these being recorded, but from the ninth series onwards, the rules were changed so that they were now given a few practice laps to get to grips with both the car and the track, before conducting a timed lap. In some episodes, the invited celebrity
1755-668: A live-version format being created called Top Gear Live ; produced by a former producer of the programme, Rowland French, the touring show aimed to attempt to "bring the TV show format to life... featuring breath-taking stunts, amazing special effects and blockbusting driving sequences featuring some of the world's best precision drivers". The Live tour began on 30 October 2008 in Earls Court, London, moving on to Birmingham in November before being performed in at least 15 other countries worldwide. As
1872-433: A mistake while filming the show for that year, while another was given to the celebrity who drove well, and not necessarily the fastest. The most important award given out in this special segment was "car of the year", in which the only criterion was that all three presenters must come to a unanimous choice on the winning car. Past winners were: James May Former employers: James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963)
1989-427: A new line-up of presenters. May presented Inside Killer Sharks , a documentary for Sky , and James May's 20th Century , investigating inventions. He flew in a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon at a speed of around 1320 mph (2124 km/h) for his television programme, James May's 20th Century . In late 2008, the BBC broadcast James May's Big Ideas , a three-part series in which May travelled around
2106-416: A new motoring series, The Grand Tour . After the group's departure, others were appointed as hosts for the programme, including Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc , both joined by four co-presenters for the twenty-third series: Rory Reid , Sabine Schmitz , Chris Harris and Eddie Jordan . After negative feedback on this series, Evans resigned from the programme, with LeBlanc joined by Harris and Reid as
2223-424: A number of series – because the new car was often different, in terms of engine specifications, power, speed, handling, and other factors, a new leaderboard would be created a direct result. In addition, the introduction of a new car would be reserved for the opening episode, with the celebrity segment pre-recorded before the series began – it featured no interview, and involved a group of celebrities taking part to set
2340-418: A nun driving a monster truck. However, these later changed into situations in which the presenters were either competing against each other with a car they chose in a series of tests, or working together to accomplish a goal, with the tagline "How hard can it be?" becoming a common phrase for the introduction of some of the challenges featured on the programme. Challenges that appear in episodes, mainly fall under
2457-539: A part-time job as a moulder at the foundry his father was employed at and suggested in a 2017 interview with The Times that this formed his interest in mechanics. During the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for several publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine , articles for Top Gear magazine, and
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#17328762187512574-410: A place. On 17 June 2008, Hammond and May revealed during an interview on BBC Radio 1 's The Chris Moyles Show , that the eleventh series would feature a new "host" in the line-up, who was later revealed on the programme as "Top Gear Stunt Man", an individual who made few, occasional appearances on the programme. From the twelfth series, feature-length specials were created for the show, each visiting
2691-399: A positive reception compared to the mixed reviews of the previous few series. During the broadcast of the twenty-eighth series in early 2020, it was announced that, from the twenty-ninth series , the show would move channels to BBC One following the positive reception of the new presenting lineup. The twenty-ninth series itself, which was broadcast in late 2020, also saw some changes as
2808-535: A prototype 1989 Rover Mini Cooper RSP, "a couple of Land Rovers", a Triumph Stag , a 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale which he ordered following his exit from Top Gear and the VW Beach Buggy used in The Grand Tour Special "The Beach Buggy Boys". He often uses a Brompton folding bicycle for commuting. He passed his driving test on his second attempt and justified this by saying "All the best people pass
2925-488: A race between German model railroad enthusiasts and their British counterparts. The two teams would start at opposite ends along double tracked mainline. This time, the effort succeeded with both teams successfully running three trains the entire route. A special Christmas Episode called Flight Club , aired in December 2012. In this special, James and his team built a huge toy glider that flew 22 miles (35 km) from Devon to
3042-428: A race circuit for use on the programme that would be situated at the fixed location, while editing of films that were recorded for each episode, focused on extending the runtime of the programme to one hour. Wilman took on the role of the show's executive producer, while Clarkson became part of the hosting line-up. Because those who had worked with Clarkson on the original programme had left the BBC to work on Fifth Gear ,
3159-579: A relationship since 2000. In July 2010, May was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lancaster University , where he had previously studied music. He holds a Doctor of Letters degree. In August 2014, May was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote against independence from the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue . In June 2016, he supported Remain in
3276-509: A result of filming and broadcast during the COVID-19 pandemic , including the show moving out of the studio and onto the runway, in a 'drive-in festival' style, to enable the audience members to remain physically distanced, and the dropping of the Star in a ... Car segment to maintain social distancing. Further changes were made to the thirtieth series , broadcast in early 2021, due to restrictions as
3393-471: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic : studio segments were recorded during a two-night shoot outside Television Centre, London , instead of the previous location at Dunsfold Aerodrome , with no full audience, and all of the films in the series were recorded in the UK. The new outdoor studio at Television Centre was retained for the thirty-first series , which was broadcast later that year. The revamped show fronted by
3510-432: A small number of segments were dropped, the studio received a revamp to its layout, the celebrity segment was redesigned to feature a rallycross-styled challenge, while Evans and LeBlanc would front the show with the other co-presenters appearing "when required". On 27 April 2016, BBC Three announced that a spin-off programme to Top Gear had been commissioned, entitled Extra Gear . Designed to be aired after each episode of
3627-566: A small, bedsit -like kitchen setup called "The Bug-out Bunker". The channel has since been rebranded as "What Next?" May became an Internet meme when one of his Foodtribe videos went viral. In it, while preparing to make two cheese sandwiches, May bluntly uttered the word "cheese" after placing a block of Red Leicester on a table. The quote went viral, and was used in various memes and image macros. May lives in Hammersmith , West London , with art critic Sarah Frater, with whom he has been in
List of Top Gear home video releases - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-597: A timed lap, the episode either shows the film of each car one after the other, or alongside each other. After the film is shown, the presenter reveals the time to the studio audience and the viewer – abbreviations next to lap times, such as "W" for "wet", highlight if they were conducted under certain track conditions. In order to qualify for a place on the Power Lap Board, cars that undergo a Power Lap must fulfil certain requirements: As such, vehicles that do not qualify have their times mentioned, but do not get included on
3861-430: A tribute to Raymond Baxter . Notes From The Hard Shoulder and James May's 20th Century , a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2 , May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue. At the end of the year, the magazine's "Road Test Yearbook" supplement
3978-455: A vehicle through its paces in an arranged scenario, or to demonstrate and showcase an exceptional quality that it exhibited. An example of this comes from the "Toyota Hilux Destruction" film, divided between two episodes of the third series – to prove the strength of a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, presenters Clarkson and May set about subjecting it to various, mainly destructive tests to see if it could survive against them and still run, allowing
4095-409: A week later on 20 December, Wilman admitted that the three presenters were now "playing to their TV cartoon characters a bit too much". His statement included referring to "this incarnation of Top Gear " being close to its end, and that the production team would be working towards keeping its "dignity still intact", while experimenting with new ideas for the programme. Nevertheless, a one-off special of
4212-408: A week later, Evans revealed that both men would also be joined by Eddie Jordan , motoring journalist Chris Harris , German motor racing driver Sabine Schmitz , and motoring journalist Rory Reid . Filming for the twenty-third series soon began in early 2016. While the show still retained the use of the show's presentation style and its test driver The Stig, the format received a number of changes –
4329-476: A weekly column in The Daily Telegraph . He has written the book May on Motors (2006), which is a collection of his published articles, and co-authored Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure (2006), based on the TV series of the same name. He wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings , published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright . In the same month, he co-presented
4446-487: Is a revival devised by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman of the 1977–2001 show of the same name for the BBC , and premiered on 20 October 2002. The programme focuses on the examination and reviewing of motor vehicles, primarily cars, though this was expanded upon after the broadcast of its earlier series to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on
4563-478: Is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond , of the motoring programme Top Gear from 2003 until 2015 and the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video from 2016 to 2024. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons. May has presented other programmes on themes including travel, science & technology, toys, wine culture, and
4680-525: Is another travel documentary with James May on a journey throughout the country of India. In October 2024, May confirmed the series was cancelled. May created Head Squeeze (now renamed "BBC Earth Lab"; May no longer features as a presenter). The channel is a mix of science, technology, history and current affairs. The first video was published in December 2012. Videos are produced by 360 Production for BBC Worldwide . May created his own YouTube channel, titled "JM's Unemployment Tube", in 2015 after Top Gear
4797-616: Is not licensed for home video. Outside of the US and UK DVD releases, a heavily-edited version of series 9 was released in Germany in 2012, and Series 6 onwards have been released for digital purchase in near-uncut versions with the exception of a few episodes. Series 2-3, 6, 10-22 & 25-27 were released in Japan on DVD for a very brief period of time by Assist-Corp in 2019, but due to poor reliability in DVD players,
List of Top Gear home video releases - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-602: Is titled The Complete Season 17 . American release titled The Complete Season 23 . Australian release re-titled "Top Gear Double Pack: Polar Special/US Special". Bonus: audio commentary on both specials with producer Andy Wilman and crew, deleted scenes, and photo galleries. Australian release re-titled 'Top Gear Double Pack: Vietnam Special/Botswana Special'. Bonus: commentary on Bolivia Special with James May , Producer Andy Wilman and crew, and photo galleries. Australian release re-titled 3 Great Adventures . Bonus: Deleted Scenes, commentary from James May and crew on
5031-467: The Aston Martin DBR9 Le Mans racer. Another major segment in the programme, featured in the majority of episodes broadcast, the format for this involves a celebrity being invited to take part in a timed lap around Top Gear ' s test track in a car provided for the segment. They then join the presenters in the studio for an interview, mainly about their car history, their performance in
5148-422: The COVID-19 pandemic , and did not return in later series. As part of Top Gear ' s format, every episode has contained at least a number of segments involving challenges. In the first few series, these were focused on novelty challenges and stunts that were typically based on absurd premises, such as a bus jumping over motorcycles (as opposed to the more typical scenario of a motorcycle jumping over buses) or
5265-648: The EU referendum . May has described his political leanings as " liberal ". In 2020, May bought half the ownership of a pub in Swallowcliffe , Wiltshire called The Royal Oak, which dates from the early 18th century and is a Grade II listed historic site. May has owned many cars. These include a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero , Bentley T2 , Rolls-Royce Phantom , Triumph 2000 , Rover P6 , Alfa Romeo 164 , 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche , Triumph Vitesse , Jaguar XJS , 1992 Range Rover Classic Vogue, Datsun 120Y , Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1 ,
5382-478: The Falklands War of 1982. The controversial incident it created was covered by international news media, but despite the issues faced, the special was later aired as part of the BBC's Christmas schedule for 2014, though with amendments to its ending and the inclusion of an introduction for it. On 10 March 2015, the 22nd series of the programme was abruptly put into hiatus by the BBC. The broadcaster's actions were
5499-592: The Middle East Special (TV Version). Bonus: audio commentary from James May and crew on the India Special, Extra Stig laps, Additional high speed run footage, Deleted Scenes on 'Supercars Across Italy'. Bonus: deleted scenes. A preview disc, "Back in the Fast Lane – Highlights from Series One & Two", was given away with Top Gear Magazine the previous month. A preview disc, "The Best of Revved Up",
5616-488: The UEFA Euro 2016 championships. On 4 July, following the series finale, Evans announced his resignation from Top Gear , based on feedback. As a result, the BBC announced on 26 September that, among the remaining five presenters, LeBlanc would be joined by Harris and Reid to become the main hosts for the next series. To make amends for its dismal performance, Top Gear underwent a more thorough revamp, which included redoing
5733-496: The magnetic North Pole in 2007, using a modified Toyota Hilux . In the words of Clarkson, he was the first person to go there "who didn't want to be there". He also drove a modified Toyota Hilux up the side of the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull . Following the BBC's decision not to renew Jeremy Clarkson 's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, May stated in April 2015 that he would not continue to present Top Gear as part of
5850-445: The 14th series was being broadcast in late 2009, the programme began to attract criticism from some viewers, over its predictability through the over-reliance on stunts and forced humour at the expense of serious content. On 13 December 2009, controller of BBC Two Janice Hadlow appeared on the BBC's Points of View to reject such comments, purely on the evidence of Top Gear ' s ratings and audience appreciation figures. However,
5967-425: The 2007 Britcar 24-hour race at Silverstone , using a race-prepared, second-hand diesel BMW 330d , fuelled by biodiesel refined from crops they had sown as part of an earlier feature. With popularity for the show rising to considerable levels, the waiting list to get a ticket for a recording became extensive – an individual seeking a ticket, found that they would be required to wait for 21 years before securing
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#17328762187516084-572: The 2007 series , he took a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), then in 2010 he achieved 259.11 mph (417 km/h) in the Veyron's newer 16.4 Super Sport edition. In an earlier episode he also tested the original version of the Bugatti Veyron against the Pagani Zonda F . May, along with co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson and an Icelandic support crew, travelled by car to
6201-501: The 22nd series. Clarkson's forced departure soon had a considerable impact on the programme, beginning with that year's Top Gear Live – as a result of the BBC's decision, the tour's name was changed to "Clarkson, Hammond and May Live" and announced on 1 April 2015. Wilman later revealed on 23 April that he would be resigning from the programme, along with Clarkson's co-presenters May and Hammond, having stated that they would not continue working on Top Gear without Clarkson; however,
6318-460: The BBC aired a special edition episode entitled Top Gear: Polar Special . It was one of the first episodes of the programme to be shown in high-definition , and the third special to be produced, focusing on a race to the North Magnetic Pole , at its recorded location in 1996, between a "polar modified" Toyota Hilux and a dog sled. Considerable planning and co-ordination for the filming of
6435-400: The BBC announced that Top Gear would not return on TV for the "foreseeable future" following Flintoff's accident, though the statement left open the possibility of the show resuming production in the future. Each episode of Top Gear focus a series of segments, switching between those filmed within the programme's main studio before a studio audience, and pre-recorded films conducted before
6552-531: The BBC later announced that Top Gear would not return for the "foreseeable future". Top Gear has been one of the BBC's most commercially successful programmes since its relaunch. It has become a significant show in British popular culture , with episodes also broadcast internationally in many countries in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and more, making it the most widely broadcast factual television programme in
6669-452: The BBC would revoke their licence to produce DVDs featuring their intellectual property. American release titled The Complete Season 10 . Bonus: audio commentaries from The Great Adventures 2 . American release titled The Complete Season 13 . The American release is titled The Complete Season 14 . The American release is titled The Complete Season 15 . The American release is titled The Complete Season 16 . The American release
6786-606: The Lapboard. Examples of this include the Renault F1 car (0:59.0) and the Caparo T1 (1:10.6), which were disqualified for failing the speed bump requirement; the Ferrari FXX (1:10.7), which was disqualified for using slick tyres ; and the Pagani Zonda R (1:08.5), which was disqualified for not being road legal. In addition, non-production cars are also disallowed from the board, such as
6903-572: The Moon. This was followed by another documentary on BBC Four called James May at the Edge of Space , where May was flown to the stratosphere (70,000 ft) in a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Highlights of the footage from the training for the flight, and the flight itself was used in James May on the Moon , but was shown fully in this programme. This made him one of the highest flying people, along with
7020-468: The accident, with filming later resuming on 5 October. The opening episode of the ninth series, aired on 28 January 2007, included footage of Hammond's crash; while it was not repeated like other episodes in the programme, it attracted higher ratings than the finale of Celebrity Big Brother , providing one of the highest ratings for BBC Two for a decade, alongside the series finale, which attracted around 8 million viewers. Later that summer, on 25 July,
7137-524: The board depending on how cool the car was perceived to be. The segment was introduced in the sixth episode of the first series and was mainly presented by Clarkson and Hammond. The two presenters often argued with each other and members of the audience about which category a particular car should be placed in. Clarkson based some of his arguments on how well the car would impress actress Kristin Scott Thomas , and later, BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce . There
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#17328762187517254-400: The broadcast of an episode – these films primarily cover major segments of the episodes, with studio segments often used as links or breaks between them. The most common forms of segments used in the show's history are "Car Reviews", "Power Laps", "Star in a ... Car", "Cool Wall", "Challenges" and "Races". A major segment of the programme, happening at least once in most episodes, it focuses on
7371-471: The broadcaster securing the right to use Dunsfold Aerodrome , an airport and business park in Waverley, Surrey , as the programme's fixed location – while its runways and taxiways were allocated for reviews and other films, one of the site's large aircraft hangars was transformed into Top Gear ' s new studio. To match the proposed ideas for the new format, the BBC gained assistance from Lotus to design
7488-415: The car and a look back to the highlights from their practice laps. After viewing footage of their timed lap, their time is stated and recorded onto a leaderboard, much in a similar fashion to lap times for Power Laps, including the use of abbreviations to denote track conditions the celebrity faced. In the event that the car being used was put out of action by serious mechanical damage during practice sessions,
7605-404: The car driven by The Stig. Often used after the main review of an episode, it mainly involved the car or cars from the review, though it sometimes featured vehicles that either had been reviewed in a previous episode but couldn't be put on the track due to problems or unfavourable conditions on the track, or were special models (such as racing versions of the car). On occasions when multiple cars did
7722-599: The cars for the programme; and the participation of celebrity guests who would be invited to take part in an episode, undertake an interview over motoring matters, such as their car history, and take part in a special challenge to do a timed lap in a designated car. Following the pitch, the BBC decided to green-light the new format, in order to create a programme to compete with Channel 5 's new motoring show Fifth Gear , to which several original Top Gear presenters including Tiff Needell , Vicki Butler-Henderson and producer Jon Bentley went. Production began in mid-2002, with
7839-408: The common theme was that the presenters conducted a road trip, mainly using a series of second-hand vehicles that they put through a series of challenges along their journey. The format often saw the presenters conduct a small filmed segment to provide an insight of what they were doing; the exception to this format was Top Gear ' s Polar Special . A number of specials were designed to be aired as
7956-586: The country which has intrigued him for a long time. During the trip through major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto , he is accompanied by a cast of different guides and translators. A second series, James May: Our Man in Italy , is a travel documentary with May on a journey throughout the regions of Italy from Palermo to the Dolomites on a trip exploring the culture, food, and more. A third series, James May: Our Man in India ,
8073-401: The departure of Clarkson, and the subsequent departure of May, Hammond and Wilman, the BBC began searching for their replacements. On 16 June 2015, Chris Evans was confirmed as one of the new hosts, with it later suggested he would be hosting the show alone as part of a new format, despite a previous announcement that the broadcaster was holding open audition for his co-presenters; this claim
8190-546: The episode was conducted by both Top Gear ' s production team and Toyota , with both Clarkson and May, driving the Hilux, being the first people to reach the recorded location of the North Magnetic Pole by car. It was one of a number of challenges in which the presenters had to be focused and serious, despite the comedic scenes shown, with another being on 9 September, when the presenters, including The Stig, participated in
8307-463: The following categories: Another part of the show's format was the inclusion of a race in every series by the presenters. Such races (which were sometimes referred to as "epic" by Clarkson) were mainly conducted over long distances, though each fell under a certain category: "The Cool Wall" was a board in the studio divided into sections titled "Seriously Uncool", "Uncool", "Cool" and "Sub Zero". Photographs of cars were sorted into different places on
8424-410: The form of internet memes and jokes. The programme was aired on BBC Two until it was moved to BBC One for its twenty-ninth series in 2020. The programme's first series in 2002 was presented by Clarkson, Richard Hammond , and Jason Dawe , with an anonymous test driver " The Stig ", an individual played by several different racing drivers over the course of the show's history, being featured; Wilman
8541-453: The gender divide of toy appeal. In series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay 's The F Word , May managed to beat Ramsay in eating bull penis and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe. May was briefly a co-presenter of the original Top Gear series in 1999. During an interview in 2020, Jeremy Clarkson claimed that the show's original producers had decided to replace him with May in 1999, though they felt dissatisfied with May as he
8658-471: The globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction. He also presented James May's Man Lab from 2010–2013. In 2013, May narrated To Space & Back , a documentary on the influence of developments in space exploration on modern technology produced by Sky-Skan and The Franklin Institute . James May on the Moon (BBC 2, 2009) commemorated 40 years since man first landed on
8775-410: The group consented to making one final episode for the BBC consisting of the trio's final films, which was aired as a special on 28 June 2015. Following this episode, Hammond, May and Wilman joined up with Clarkson, and subsequently signed a deal with Amazon to produce a new motoring programme in the same vein as their former show, which debuted in 2016 under the title of The Grand Tour . Following
8892-525: The island of Lundy . In 2013, May created a life-size, fully functional motorcycle and sidecar made entirely out of the construction toy Meccano . Joined by Oz Clarke , he then completed a full lap of the Isle of Man TT Course , a full 37 + 3 ⁄ 4 mile-long circuit. In late 2006, the BBC broadcast Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure , a series in which May, a committed bitter drinker, travelled around France with wine expert Oz Clarke . A second series
9009-461: The long-running US news programme 60 Minutes featuring Clarkson, Hammond, and May, attracted 16 million viewers in October 2010. Towards the end of 2014, the BBC became concerned over Clarkson's behaviour on the programme, including its production. Their concerns were raised by two incidents that year. The first involved an un-aired take from the 19th series emerging on national news media, featuring
9126-479: The magazine's management called for May to be fired. His past television credits include presenting Driven on Channel 4 in 1998, narrating an eight-part BBC One series called Road Rage School , and co-hosting the ITV1 coverage of the 2006 London Boat Show . He also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James May's Top Toys (for BBC One). James May: My Sisters' Top Toys attempted to investigate
9243-477: The main hosts for the following three series. From the twenty-seventh series onwards (2019), the presenting line-up was changed following the departure of LeBlanc and Reid, with Harris joined by Andrew Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness as the main presenters. This series proved more popular with viewers. Production of the thirty-fourth series was halted in March 2023 after Flintoff was injured in an accident during filming;
9360-426: The message: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." In a 2019 interview with Carscoops.com, May stated that while the hidden message originally passed through the magazine's pre-printing review processes unnoticed, he was found out when readers began calling in to Autocar 's offices, thinking there might be a prize involved. Upon learning of this,
9477-400: The new series aired with only six of the ten episodes that it promised to show. The new look of the show received mixed feedback from critics and viewers alike – although praise was given for the inclusion of LeBlanc, Harris and Reid, the new format was panned for its sluggish pace, the lack of humour in the studio segments, and the length of time spent on the revamped celebrity segment, "Star in
9594-417: The new series was aired, its format focused on providing exclusive new content online – hosted by both Reid and Harris, the spin-off would consist of new footage, interviews, specially recorded films and behind-the-scenes access to the main programme. A combination of delays with production and conflicts with scheduling, led to the premiere date of the 23rd series being pushed back to 29 May 2016. In addition,
9711-493: The new trio helped Top Gear increase viewership to numbers not seen since the departure of Clarkson, Hammond and May. The twenty-seventh series has also been one of the most popular shows for British 16 to 34 year olds. On 4 August 2021, it was announced that production of the show would transfer to BBC Studios Bristol from the thirty-third series onwards; however, Dunsfold Aerodrome will still be used for filming. On 13 December 2022, whilst filming at Dunsfold Park Aerodome for
9828-507: The next. On 20 September, during production for the ninth series, Hammond was seriously injured while driving a Vampire turbojet drag racing car at up to 314 miles per hour (505 km/h), as part of a planned feature, leading the BBC to postpone the broadcast of Best of Top Gear until a later date, and delaying production on the series until the presenter had recovered. Both the BBC and the Health and Safety Executive carried out inquiries into
9945-502: The pilot, at that time, after the crew of the International Space Station . Beginning in October 2009, May presented a six-part TV series showing favourite toys of the past era and whether they can be applied in the modern-day. The toys featured were Airfix , Plasticine , Meccano , Scalextric , Lego and Hornby . In each show, May attempts to take each toy to its limits, also fulfilling several of his boyhood dreams in
10062-407: The planned 34th series, Flintoff was involved in a second accident and had to be airlifted to hospital. In January 2023 The Mirror reported Flintoff chose to put his TV career on hold to allow himself time to recover from the crash. In March 2023 the BBC announced that series 34 production had been suspended to enable a thorough health and safety investigation into the accident. In November 2023,
10179-699: The plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph ' s motoring section from 2003 to 2011. James Daniel May was born in Bristol , the son of aluminium factory manager James May and his wife Kathleen. He was one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport . He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and
10296-429: The presenter attempting to choose between two cars using the traditional rhyme " Eeny, meeny, miny, moe " but failing to censor the original version's use of the word nigger . The second involved an investigation into racism complaints by the regulator Ofcom , in regards to the show's "Burma Special", which led to the programme being found in breach of broadcasting rules: the presenters had been involved in constructing
10413-402: The presenters conducting a road-test of a car, looking at such factors as ride quality, speed, handling, practicality, and reliability. These reviews are conducted either on and around Top Gear ' s test track , or on the roads of Britain and abroad, and often focus on one car, primarily from well known car manufacturers. On a number of occasions, the review may feature more than one car from
10530-406: The presenters regularly destroying a caravan during the early series. After the first series, Dawe was replaced by James May . Having previously been a presenter on Channel 4 's motoring programme Driven and the 1999 series of Top Gear , May initially declined to be a part of the new format, until its growing popularity later changed his mind. At the beginning of the third series, McCarthy
10647-465: The process. In August 2009, May built a full-sized house out of Lego at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey. Plans for Legoland to move it to their theme park fell through in September 2009 because costs to deconstruct, move and then rebuild were too high; despite a final Facebook appeal for someone to take it, it was demolished on 22 September, with the plastic bricks planned to be donated to charity. Also for
10764-451: The production team arranged for him to be joined by Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe . A difficulty found during production revolved around the show's test driver – neither Clarkson nor Wilman could find a racing driver with experience at speaking on-camera. In discussions over this, the pair opted to make the driver silent, and later having their identity concealed. When they recruited Perry McCarthy amongst their possible candidates for
10881-484: The programme for television. This led to them eventually meeting the broadcaster to pitch the idea of changing it from a motoring magazine format to one that was studio-based. Amongst the ideas that were pitched included: the involvement of a fixed location for car reviews and other films, alongside locations across Britain and abroad; putting notable cars through a timed lap of a circuit; the involvement of test driver with veteran racing experience, who handles driving some of
10998-536: The result of them suspending Clarkson in order to investigate allegations made against him, over verbal and physical abuse he had committed against one of the show's producers, Oisin Tymon. On 25 March, Clarkson's contract with the BBC was terminated, with Director-General of the BBC Tony Hall announcing that the remaining episodes future were uncertain until the broadcaster could determine how to air them out and complete
11115-453: The role, his input led to Wilman choosing to nickname the test driver " the Stig ". To date, there have been 12 presenters of the show: The first series of the new format of Top Gear premiered on 20 October 2002. In its early state, the programme's segments were based on elements of the previous format, such as interviews and viewers' letters, but also featured some new humorous elements, such as
11232-481: The same class, as well as include exotic/foreign models, and feature more than one presenter as a way of providing different opinions on the cars being reviewed and putting forth an argument over the model they believe is worthwhile to own. Although the programme operated in a standard manner in the early series to the original format of car reviews in the 1977 show, it soon began to adopt an unusual approach of reviewing cars, by conducting an unusual test(s) to either put
11349-474: The segment's format was revised, and renamed as "Star in a Reasonably Fast Car". While similar in format to "Reasonably Priced", in that celebrities were interviewed about their car history and did a timed lap around the test track, it featured a number of changes. Apart from the car being much faster the segment was split into two parts – the celebrity joined much earlier in the episode, discussed their car history with LeBlanc, Harris and Reid, gave some feedback on
11466-520: The series, he recreated the banked track at Brooklands using Scalextric track, and an attempt at the world's longest working model railway along the Tarka Trail between Barnstaple and Bideford in North Devon, although the attempt was foiled due to parts of the track being stolen and vandals placing coins on the track, causing a short circuit. Later, in 2011, May tried for the record again, proposing
11583-448: The show was presented by Clarkson, Hammond and May, the segment was entitled as "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" – its name was derived from the fact that the celebrities drove around the test track in an affordable car available on the market. The segment was often shown during the middle of an episode, and had the celebrities interviewed by Clarkson. The affordable car used in the segment was changed several times, each being replaced after
11700-458: The start of the tenth series and also due to show being able to produce more pre-recorded film and challenge content due to the bigger budgets of later series. The final appearance of the Cool Wall occurred in the last episode of the sixteenth series though it still remained as part of the studio set until the end of twenty-second series. The Cool Wall was removed from the studio entirely ahead of
11817-404: The studio, and redesigning the show's opening titles. The show's format was refocused on elements developed in early series, a deeper work on chemistry between the presenters, while also revising the celebrity segment – as the arrangement for the 23rd series had proven to be a failure, the segment returned to its original format. On 31 May 2018, LeBlanc announced he would be leaving the show after
11934-541: The twenty third series after the studio was refurbished following the departure of Clarkson, Hammond and May from the show. In 2006, Top Gear featured its first, feature-length, special edition episode, in which the presenters conducted a various challenges related to sporting events used in the Winter Olympics, in which cars took the place of athletes in each event. Following this special, the production team worked on creating additional, feature-length specials, in which
12051-469: The twenty-sixth series in 2019. Andrew Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness were announced on 22 October 2018 to be replacing LeBlanc and joining Harris for the twenty-seventh series. As a part of the reshuffle Rory Reid was announced to be stepping down as a main host to present Extra Gear and make occasional appearances on the main show; however, Extra Gear did not return and so Reid moved to ITV4 to present Speed Freaks . The new presenting line-up received
12168-420: The use of tools for repair but prohibiting the replacement of any components (with the exception of the windscreen). Other notable uses of this unusual approach have included: Another unusual approach with car reviews was to conduct them in the form of a challenge. Examples of such "review" challenges have included: This segment focuses on a featured car undergoing a timed lap of the programme's test track, with
12285-492: The world. Its success has led to various forms of merchandising, including live tours, special DVD editions, and books, as well as spawning a variety of international versions in various countries, including the United States, Australia, South Korea, China, and France. After the BBC cancelled the original format of Top Gear in December 2001, Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman met together to work out ideas for reviving
12402-454: Was a F1 driver, with the segment referred to as "F1 Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" – while it stuck to the standard format, the only difference was that the F1 drivers were restricted to the use of the first car used in the segment, which was retained to maintain fairness with those invited. During Evans' short-lived tenure as the show's host, the twenty-third series saw the segment renamed "Star in
12519-476: Was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. May studied music at Pendle College , Lancaster University , where he learned to play the flute and piano; he also spent a year studying metalwork at a technical college. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer and had a short stint in the civil service before taking up journalism and broadcasting in his thirties. He also held
12636-545: Was broadcast in late 2007, this time with May and Clarke in the Californian wine country, and was followed by a third series in 2009 called Oz and James Drink to Britain . In January 2020, May hosted a travel documentary named James May: Our Man in Japan , the 6-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video and follows May's journey from the north end of Japan to its south. Over the course of three months, May explores and participate in many activities to truly understand
12753-498: Was given away with Top Gear Magazine the previous month A preview disc, "Best of the Challenges", was given away with Top Gear Magazine the previous month. Amazon-exclusive limited edition release came packaged in a cardboard sleeve, with a free "I Am the Stig" XL T-shirt. Top Gear (2002 TV series) Top Gear is a British automotive magazine and currently inactive motoring-themed entertainment television programme. It
12870-461: Was later dismissed as untrue. Although former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard had been widely reported to be joining the programme as a host, this was dismissed as speculation when he was revealed, on 11 January 2016, to be the new host of Channel 4 's coverage for the 2016 F1 season. On 4 February, it was officially announced that American actor Matt LeBlanc was to join the show as Evans' co-host. On an edition of his BBC Radio 2 breakfast show,
12987-412: Was no rule for how cars were to be judged; according to producer Andy Wilman, the criteria were not necessarily related to the quality of the car itself. Any car owned by one of the presenters was classified as "Seriously Uncool". The segment appeared frequently during early series acting as a low budget time filler segment but later appeared only a few times since the original Cool Wall was damaged at
13104-477: Was postponed by the BBC following Jeremy Clarkson's dismissal. Mainly featuring cooking videos filmed from his kitchen, as well as mock builds of Airfix models, the channel has over 230,000 subscribers as of March 2021. In 2016, May launched, with his former Top Gear presenters, a social network for motoring fans called DriveTribe . In 2019, May moved on to created videos on a Drivetribe spin-off brand Foodtribe (replacing JM's Unemployment Tube) frequently using
13221-468: Was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each review started with a large red letter (known in typography as an initial or a drop cap ). May's role was to put the entire supplement together. To alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read "ROAD", "TEST", "YEAR" and "BOOK". Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with "SOYO" and "UTHI"; when punctuated, these letters spelt out
13338-516: Was replaced by Ben Collins for contractual reasons – the change in drivers was notable in the fact that for Collins' version, the Stig's outfit was changed from a black outfit to a white one. As the programme progressed, the format slowly began to transform, with a focus towards creating a unique presentation style for the programme, which included the addition of new segments, a more unusual approach to reviewing cars, road trips, and more specialised films involving races – either between cars or between
13455-567: Was soon fired in 2000, shortly before the entire program was cancelled the following year. Following the first season of the show's relaunch in 2002, Clarkson managed to convince Andrew Wilman to rehire him to replace Jason Dawe . He first co-presented the revived series of Top Gear in its second series in 2003, where he earned the nickname "Captain Slow" owing to his careful driving style, and his OCD -like obsessions with order. Despite this sobriquet, he has done some especially high-speed driving – in
13572-476: Was that celebrities drove around a specially modified, rally-cross version of the Top Gear test track – while it used the majority of the circuit, it featured two off-road sections and a small jump – in a rally-spec Mini Cooper . After the series ended, the segment received negative feedback and criticism from viewers and critics, and was dropped from the programme as a result. From the twenty-fourth series onwards,
13689-411: Was the show's executive producer. Following the first series, Dawe was replaced by James May , with the line-up unchanged until the end of the twenty-second series, when the BBC chose to not renew Clarkson's contract on 25 March 2015, following an incident during filming. His dismissal from Top Gear prompted the departure of Hammond, May and Wilman from the programme, who joined Clarkson in forming
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