Following the BBC’s disclosure that the future of “Top Gear” remains uncertain, former host James May has emphasized the necessity for a significant overhaul of the series. May, who co-presented the show with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond for over a decade, conveyed in an interview on the BBC’s “Today” podcast that a reimagining of the show is imperative whenever it resurfaces.
Expressing his candid perspective, May stated, “I can say this now – it does need a bit of a rethink. It’s time for a new format and a fresh approach to the subject because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car has been invented.”
The BBC officially announced on Tuesday that “Top Gear” has been placed on hiatus following a production halt after presenter Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff suffered an on-set accident in December. Flintoff, a “Top Gear” presenter since 2019, was working alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
Addressing Flintoff’s accident, May commented, “I’ve only met Freddie once or twice, but it’s obviously more serious than we all thought.”
In 2015, May and Hammond departed from the series after Clarkson’s dismissal for an altercation with a producer. The trio subsequently launched a new automotive series, “The Grand Tour,” on Amazon Prime Video. In response to fans urging his return in light of Tuesday’s news, May expressed his annoyance, saying, “It did annoy me a bit because there were a lot of people saying, ‘They’ve done that wrong and now you can come back and rescue it.'”
May’s complete interview on the BBC’s “Today” podcast is set to be released on Thursday.
