Television broadcasts are rarely awarded the title of cult, since it is quite difficult to maintain the constant attention of viewers for a long time. The British television show about Top Gear cars succeeded. The show received the status of a cult, and the leading "Top Gear" became incredibly popular personalities. They are recognized by face in any country of the world, they are immensely adored and are looking forward to appearing on the screen. We’ll talk about who leads Top Gear today.
Start
In 1977, Top Gear appeared on British television. She appeared at that time in the format of a television magazine and was practically no different from other television 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 the whole world later learned, did not initially take part in the creation of the program, except for Jeremy Clarson and James May.
Reload show
In 2002, the leadership of the BBC decided to completely update the program. Its format was changed and new Top Gear leaders were invited. They were Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson, who returned to the show. In addition to this trinity, the test rider Stig began to participate in the filming of the program, hiding his face behind his helmet.
The reset decision turned out to be correct. The new show has acquired its own unique, inimitable style. Leading Top Gear programs, with their uninhibited manner of running the program and humor, instantly became the audience’s favorites. In its best years, the broadcast audience reached 360 million viewers.
Jeremy Clarkson
He came to Top Gear (photos of the program’s hosts are presented later) in 1988 and brought a lot of new things: interesting ideas, his original manner of communication and rude humor, which often went beyond the bounds of permissible. But the audience really liked him, and the ratings of the program began to grow. If initially it was watched by only a few hundred viewers, then with the advent of Clarkson their number began to increase. In 1999, the presenter leaves the program. The reason was his desire to try himself in new projects. Without the eccentric Clarkson, the rating of the program fell, and the BBC management decided to suspend the creation of new issues.
In 2002, Clarkson returned with a proposal to completely reload the transfer. The producers and management of the BBC took a chance and did not lose. Top Gear from an informative television program has become an entertaining bright show, one minute of which cost a lot of money.
Richard Hammond
Before joining the show, he worked on the radio. Colleagues and fans of the show sometimes call him the Hamster. In one of the issues of the program, Hammond, imitating the behavior of a hamster, ate a cardboard tablet. Participation in the show almost ended tragically for the presenter - when piloting a jet-powered car, he had an accident. Everything worked out, but Hammond asked his colleagues to never mention this incident again.
Top Gear leaders are avid car aficionados, and Richard Hammond is no exception. He loves Porsche cars and owns several expensive cars.
James may
Prior to the show, Top Gear worked as a journalist in several publications and hosted two television programs. In 1999 he became co-host of Top Gear. After the reboot, the show returned to him in the second season. For his extremely careful driving style, he received the nickname Captain Snail from his colleagues.
Stig
The mysterious car tester has remained incognito for a long time. All attempts to find out his name, the host of Top Gear broadcasts always reduced to jokes - they said that this was not a man, but a robot, or called a “tamed racer”. Nevertheless, Stig was a full-fledged host of the show, and his name always stood in the credits for the program. In total, three different Stig took part in the filming of the program - Perry McCarthy and Ben Collins. Who is hiding under the guise of a third Stig is unknown.
Clarkson and other presenters leave - the show must go on
At the end of March 2015, fans of the program were saddened by shocking news - the oldest participant in the show, standing at the origins of its foundation, Jeremy Clarkson, was fired by decision of the BBC. The blame was the explosive nature of the leader. Problems with Clarkson have happened before. He was never distinguished by caution in statements and tact in judgments. Repeatedly he had to publicly apologize for his misconduct. The last drop of patience for the BBC was Clarkson's conflict with one of the show's producers over the lack of hot food on the set. 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 car show. The format and television company, which sheltered the disgraced presenter, is still unknown. He was invited to participate in the BBC humorous program, but in April 2015, he refused to shoot 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 he signed a contract with the BBC for three years.
As the main presenter he was given the opportunity to pick up a new team. Evans chose Sabina Schmitz, the famous German race car driver, to play as her co-host. Prior to that, she took part in the filming of several issues of “Top Gear” as an invited guest. Another leading show was automobile journalist Chris Harris.
David Coulthard is the name of the fourth leading updated show. This is a Scottish race car driver and a former Formula 1 driver. In 2012, he ended his career on the race track and is now trying himself in a new role as a host.
The most unexpected news was the fact that one of the co-hosts of the program will be the star of Matt LeBlanc, the beloved by many viewers of the series "Friends". By the way, he will become the first foreign permanent participant in the show in the history of his existence. Many fans of the program perceived the appearance of LeBlanc in it as an attempt to decorate the show and attract attention to it. This is not true. Matt LeBlanc is a big fan of cars, is familiar with many famous racers and tries not to miss a single Formula 1 race.
The names of the new leading excitement among the fans of the program did not cause. According to most viewers, no one can replace the former participants of the show. The Top Gear show 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 managed to put together a vibrant team that could outshine the former Top Gear presenters. Given their popularity, it’s hard to believe in the success of the updated show.