Top Gear is a British television series that focuses on various motor vehicles, primarily cars, in which its hosts conduct reviews on new models and vintage classics, as well as tackling various motoring related challenges, and inviting celebrities to set a time on their specially designed race-course. The programme is a relaunched version of the original 1977 show of the same name.
For its first series, the show was presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and Jason Dawe, with support from an anonymous race driver, The Stig. The format of the first series was more similar to the original show than later series and had interviews with guests outside of the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment. Dawe was replaced by James May for the second series, where the show chose to focus only on car reviews, guest laps in the Reasonably Priced Car, the Cool Wall, and the Greatest Car Ever segment (exclusive to this series), with each episode also having a single short challenge. This strict format was later relaxed, with the third series showing more challenges; these challenges became longer from the fourth series as the races and the cheap car challenges were introduced. By series 7, there were fewer reviews of "affordable" cars that were the main focus of the original show, and the show became almost entirely focused on longer and partially-scripted challenges, with one or two car reviews (usually only featuring performance cars) per episode. Regular roadtrip-style special episodes were also introduced from series 9, often aired as a Christmas special.
This new format remained unchanged until the line-up was changed after the departure of Clarkson, Hammond and May at the end of the twenty-second series. Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc took over as the main hosts, with a team of co-presenters consisting of Chris Harris, Rory Reid, Eddie Jordan and Sabine Schmitz.[1][2][3] After the twenty-third series, Evans departed from the show, leading to LeBlanc being joined by Harris and Reid as the main hosts, with occasional appearances from Jordan and Schmitz.[4] LeBlanc departed the show following the twenty-sixth series in 2019,[5] and was replaced by new hosts Paddy McGuiness and Freddie Flintoff for the twenty-seventh series later that year.[6]
During the course of the programme, 240 episodes of Top Gear aired, including three specials over thirty-three series, between 20 October 2002 and 18 December 2022.
'Car darts' • Audi A84.0 TDI endurance challenge (London to Edinburgh and back on one tank) • Ford SportKa vs. racing pigeons • Evo vs. STi battle revised
Soldiers shoot at Clarkson while he drives the Boxster S and the SLK 55 AMG to see which one is best avoiding bullets • Hammond sees if he can beat a time set by Maserati's Chief Test Driver in the GranSport
Old generation vs. New generation car culture • Lap times from a video game vs. Real life in the Honda NSX • Mazda MX-5 vs. Greyhound race • Top Gear Awards 2005
50 years of British Touring Car racing • TG Stuntman takes on Fifth Gear's caravan jump record • V8 Powered Rocking Chair for the elderly • Top Gear Awards 2008
In November 2015, the BBC announced "Top Gear: From A-Z", described as a "two-part extravaganza" in the form of a clip show composed of material from the previous twenty-two series of Top Gear.[23] It is narrated by comedian John Bishop with celebrities presenting their favourite highlights from the show;[24] the programme did not use the Top Gear studio.[24]
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^Episode count includes the two-episode Patagonia special which preceded the series. Out of ten originally planned episodes for the twenty-second series itself, only seven episodes were produced and broadcast before Clarkson's suspension; an eighth episode was aired months later.
^Martinson, Jane; Conlan, Tara (24 November 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear years to feature in BBC special". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2016. Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear years are to feature in a "two‐part extravaganza" on the BBC this Christmas, with star guests presenting highlights of the motoring show