Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are set to leave the Grand Tour, ending a twenty-year partnership.
The former Top Gear presenters have decided to quit the show seven years after it launched on Amazon’s Prime Video, it has been claimed.
An insider told this Sun that the ‘surprising’ decision ‘very much marks the end of an era for the three presenters’, who have worked together since 2003.
They added that while the show is one of the streaming platform’s most-watched shows, “the guys aren’t worried about it all moving forward in the years and they have a lot of other projects to pursue.”
The source told the publication that the broadcasters “felt the time was right and wanted to reach a peak if the show remained popular.”
Despite their departures, MailOnline understands that the show itself may still go ahead, with Prime Video exploring options to continue without the trio – although it is believed the trio are not opposed to new presenters being hired.
Jeremy Clarkson (right), Richard Hammond (centre) and James May (left) filmed during an episode of The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick
The trio is filmed on a race track during the Eastern European special of The Grand Tour: Eurocrash
The group in a promotional photo for BBC’s Top Gear, which they presented from 2003 to 2015
Fans of the show will have some extras from The Grand Tour to look forward to – two special episodes that will follow Clarkson, May and Hammond to Mauritania and Zimbabwe will be released next year.
The trio also have other projects in the pipeline – Clarkson recently filmed a third season of Clarkson’s Farm and a fourth is in the pipeline, while May has another set of Our Man In… travelogues out.
Earlier this week, Clarkson also shared a health update after revealing he was at ‘double risk’ of developing dementia. He claimed that his doctor told him he needed hearing aids after severe hearing loss, something closely linked to the onset of dementia.
Moving forward with the program would create an extremely successful partnership between Clarkson, aged 63, May, aged 60, and Hammond, aged 52, dating back twenty years.
The group had become a superstar after taking over BBC’s Top Gear and turning it from a niche motoring show into one of the company’s most popular properties, selling spin-offs around the world.
They dramatically left the program in 2015 after Clarkson was fired by the broadcaster following a row with producers, before returning to The Grand Tour in 2016.
Since then, they have hosted 44 episodes of the series, which has taken them around the world with specials to Cambodia and Vietnam, Réunion and Madagascar, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
It comes weeks after their former bosses at the BBC announced that Top Gear, which made the trio superstars, was being axed in the wake of a horrific crash involving presenter Andrew Flintoff.
Production on the show has been halted since presenter Flintoff, 45, was taken to hospital in December 2022 after being seriously injured in an accident at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
Following the crash, the BBC announced it would pause production of the show, which was co-hosted by Take Me Out presenter Paddy McGuinness and motoring journalist Chris Harris, as it was felt it would be ‘inappropriate’. safety assessment.
McGuinness later thanked fans ‘for the love’ in a ‘goodbye’ message.
And following the BBC’s announcement to ax the show for the foreseeable future, Paddy posted a photo gallery on Instagram, starting with a photo of the trio in white Top Gear outfits.
He wrote the caption: ‘We would always be b*****s but we were your b*****s.
“Thanks for all the love over the years folks, it was much appreciated.”
Paddy McGuinness posted this image on Instagram of the trio in white Top Gear outfits
Top Gear presenter Paddy McGuinness has thanked fans ‘for the love’ after the BBC said the hit series will be off air for the ‘foreseeable future’
Paddy McGuinness posted a series of images on his Instagram page as he thanked fans ‘for the love’
The images were captioned ‘We would always be b*****s but we were your b*****s’
Flintoff is said to have reached a £9 million settlement with the BBC for two years of lost income as a result of the crash.
And sources have told The Telegraph that the company would not be able to get insurance cover for the kind of stunts seen in previous series.
“Insurance costs are skyrocketing,” an insider told the newspaper. ‘They were already quite high, but after the payout… no one will want to do that unless they charge more than the BBC can afford.’
MailOnline understands that insurance costs played no role in the BBC’s decision to pause the show.
In a statement earlier this week, the BBC said: ‘Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to postpone the UK show for the foreseeable future.
‘The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy, who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about the new projects being developed with each of them.
‘We will have more to say about this in the near future. We know postponing the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it’s the right thing to do.
‘All other Top Gear activities remain unaffected by this hiatus, including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.’