Jeremy Clarkson says Top Gear wouldn't get made now with "3 middle-aged, middle-class men"
"It wouldn't get commissioned now in a million years."
The Grand Tour's last ever episode, One For The Road, is now available to watch on Prime Video, and in line with the release of the episode, Jeremy Clarkson has reflected on his journey on television – but thinks shows like The Grand Tour or Top Gear wouldn't get made today.
The presenter and columnist for The Sun said: "It wouldn’t get commissioned now in a million years. Monkey tennis would be more likely to be commissioned than this, I think."
He went on: “It would be so difficult — three middle-aged, middle-class guys, driving cars around in other countries, I think they’d probably say no."
Clarkson added: "Fortunately, our Top Gear grew out of something else. I started in 2002, doing originally just with Hammond, and then May came along in the second season of the series."
Clarkson's comments come just as the final episode of The Grand Tour has landed on Prime Video, marking an end to 22 years of collaboration between Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.
Of course, the trio worked together for years on BBC's Top Gear before jumping over to Prime Video for the show's spiritual successor.
This last hurrah sees the three men go to Zimbabwe, where they will complete "a stunning road trip through beautiful and sometimes challenging landscapes leading to an emotional ending on a strangely familiar island".
Read more:
- The Grand Tour bids farewell in emotional trailer for final special
- The Grand Tour's Richard Hammond confirms series will continue with new presenters
A trailer for the episode was revealed earlier this month, giving fans an insight into the emotional farewell to come, but it seems as though there could be a future for The Grand Tour, just with different presenters.
Hammond had previously said that the series will continue with fresh faces, but did not have any concrete details about any future plans.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Previously explaining the premise for this final episode, Clarkson said: "The premise of the original Botswana film was: why, when you leave London and move to Surrey, do you always buy yourself a 4x4? You don’t need one.
"To prove this, we decided to drive three perfectly ordinary cars across Botswana."
He continued: "I've always liked the premise that cars are much tougher than you think they are. They can take so much punishment; people don't believe how much their car can take before it expires.
"So, we did a similar thing this time: the three that we took to Zimbabwe were, on the face of it, ridiculous, but as you can see in the film, they survive. The concept was just driving cars we liked."
The Grand Tour: One For The Road, the final episode, is now available on Prime Video. Sign up to Amazon Prime for £8.99 per month.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
