Top Gear hosts: names, photos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Television programs are rarely awarded the title of cult, because it is quite difficult to keep the constant attention of the audience for a long time. The British TV show about cars Top Gear succeeded. The show has gained cult status, and Top Gear hosts have become incredibly popular personalities. They are recognized in person in any country in the world, they are immensely adored and look forward to appearing on the screen. We'll talk about who hosts Top Gear today.

Start

In 1977, Top Gear appeared on British television. It came out at that time in the format of a TV magazine and practically did not differ from other TV programs about cars. For a long time, the transmission format remained unchanged. When it became clear that something needed to be changed, it was decided to restart Top Gear. The presenters, whose names were later known to the whole world, initially did not take part in the creation of the program, except for Jeremy Clarson and James May.

Show reboot

In 2002, the BBC decided to completely revamp the show. Its format was changed and new Top Gear hosts were invited. They were Richard Hammond, James May and returned to the showJeremy Clarkson. In addition to this trinity, the test rider Stig began to participate in the filming of the program, hiding his face behind a helmet.

The decision to reboot was the right one. The new show has acquired its own unique, inimitable style. The hosts of Top Gear, with their relaxed manner of presenting the program and humor, instantly became the favorites of the public. In its best years, the audience of the program reached 360 million viewers.

Jeremy Clarkson

He came to Top Gear (photos of the hosts of the program are presented below) in 1988 and brought a lot of new things: interesting ideas, his original manner of communication and rude humor, often beyond the bounds of permissible. But the audience really liked it, and the ratings of the program began to grow. If initially only a few hundred viewers watched it, then with the advent of Clarkson, their number began to increase. In 1999, the host leaves the program. The reason was his desire to try himself in new projects. Without the eccentric Clarkson, the ratings of the program fell, and the BBC decided to suspend the creation of new episodes.

In 2002, Clarkson returns with a proposal for a complete reboot of the show. The producers and management of the BBC took a chance and did not lose. Top Gear went from an educational TV program to an entertaining show, one minute of which cost a lot of money.

Richard Hammond

Before joining the show, he worked on the radio. He is sometimes referred to as Hamster by fellow program members and fans of the show. In one of the editions of the Hammond program, imitating the behaviorhamster ate a cardboard sign. Participation in the show almost ended tragically for the presenter - while piloting a jet-powered car, he had an accident. Everything worked out, but Hammond asked his colleagues never to mention this incident again.

Top Gear hosts are car enthusiasts, and Richard Hammond is no exception. He loves Porsche cars and owns several expensive cars.

James May

Before Top Gear, he worked as a journalist for several publications and hosted two television programs. In 1999, he became the co-host of Top Gear. After the reboot, the show returned to it in its second season. For his extremely cautious driving style, he was nicknamed Captain Snail by his colleagues.

Stig

The mysterious machine tester remained incognito for a long time. All attempts to find out his name were always reduced to jokes by the Top Gear hosts - they said that this was not a person, but a robot, or they called him a “tamed racer”. The Stig, however, was a full-fledged host of the show, and his name was always in the credits for the program. In total, three different Stigs took part in the filming of the program - Perry McCarthy and Ben Collins. Who is hiding under the guise of the third Stig is unknown.

Departure of Clarkson and other hosts - the show must go on

At the end of March 2015, fans of the show were upset by the shocking news - the oldest participant in the show, standing at the origins of its founding, Jeremy Clarkson, was fired by the decision of the BBC management. Blame wasthe explosive character of the leader. There have been problems with Clarkson before. He was never distinguished by caution in his statements and tact in his judgments. Repeatedly he had to publicly apologize for his misdeeds. The last straw for the BBC was Clarkson's conflict with one of the show's producers over the lack of hot food on set. On March 25, he was fired. The rest of the Top Gear hosts showed solidarity with Clarkson and announced their departure from the show. Now they are planning a world tour.

Jeremy Clarkson plans to create his own show dedicated to cars. It is still unknown about the format and the TV company that will shelter the disgraced presenter. He was invited to participate in the BBC comedy program, but in April 2015 he turned down the show.

If the program could survive the loss of one participant, then the departure of all put an end to the history of Top Gear. But the BBC decided to try and keep one of its best television shows. The names of the new presenters of the program are already known. Chris Evans, presenter, producer and businessman, was the first to officially announce his participation in the show. He has long been a fan of the program and without hesitation signed a contract with the BBC for three years.

As the main host, he was given the opportunity to pick up a new team. Evans chose Sabina Schmitz, a famous German racing driver, to be his co-host. Prior to that, she took part in the filming of several issues of "Top Gear" as an invited guest. Motoring journalist Chris Harris was another host of the show.

DavidCoulthard is the name of the fourth host of the updated show. This is a Scottish race car driver and a former Formula 1 pilot. In 2012, he ended his career on the race track and is now trying his hand at a new role as a presenter.

The most unexpected news was the fact that one of the co-hosts of the program will be the star of the TV series Friends, beloved by many viewers, Matt LeBlanc. By the way, he will become the first foreign permanent participant of the show in the history of its existence. Many fans of the program took the appearance of LeBlanc in it as an attempt to decorate the show and draw attention to it. This is not true. Matt LeBlanc is a big fan of cars, knows many famous racers and tries not to miss a single Formula 1 race.

The names of the new hosts did not cause a stir among the fans of the program. According to the majority of viewers, no one can replace the former participants of the show. Top Gear has already lost about 5 million viewers.

The release of the new Top Gear is scheduled for May 8, 2016. It is then that it will become clear whether the BBC has managed to assemble a bright team that can outshine the former Top Gear hosts. Given their popularity, it's hard to believe the success of the revamped show.