Jeremy Clarkson makes candid confession on Top Gear's future - despite BBC confirming it has no plans for show to return after Freddie Flintoff's horrific crash

Daily Mail​

26-04-2025

Jeremy Clarkson has admitted it would be 'very sad' if Top Gear never returned to TV screens following the BBC's decision to put the car show on ice.
The presenter, who fronted the programme alongside Richard Hammond and James May for over a decade, insisted it was needed now more than ever as modern motors are becoming increasingly complex.
Production of the series was suspended in 2022 following a horrific crash that almost killed presenter Freddie Flintoff, with the BBC saying in 2024 that it would not return 'for the foreseeable future.'
The broadcaster said at the time there would be 'more to say in the near future' - but no further announcement on Top Gear has ever come.
But Clarkson believes there is space for the show to return to TV screens, albeit in a more informational format - similar to the original series which ran from 1977 to 2001 and focused on car reviews and consumer advice.
'It would be sad if it never came back, that would be very sad,' the 65-year-old told The Times.
'There's room for a car programme at the moment because cars are changing so fast and electrical cars are coming along and nobody really understands what's a good one and what isn't.'
Clarkson's co-presenter Richard Hammond echoed his calls for the show's return, claiming the information it could provide 'is going to become more important rather than less' in the years ahead.
Clarkson claimed Top Gear would be 'necessary' as consumers are increasingly finding themselves out of their depth when knowing what makes the best car.
He added: 'I need someone like Chris Goffey or Frank Page from the old to come along with a sensible jumper, and William Woollard, and tell me "this is a good one, that isn't a good one".'
Hammond also said car buyers need to understand the choices they are making when buying new cars, highlighting how the introduction of electric and hybrid models has led to a wide variety of different specs.
Clarkson left Top Gear and the BBC in 2015 after punching producer Oisin Tymon when he was told a hotel he was staying in while filming a segment was not providing a hot dinner after the kitchen was closed.
Hammond and May followed him to Amazon, where the trio have presented The Grand Tour since 2016. The final episode of the show, which wound up its studio format in favour of elongated travelogues aired last year.
Clarkson appeared to make up with the BBC as the Grand Tour's studio format came to an end.
The last episode to feature a live audience showed a highlights reel of the trio's time presenting together - made up of clips from their time with Amazon and the public broadcaster.
He has since found a new calling as a farmer, with Amazon's Clarkson's Farm series getting rave reviews while his Diddly Squat agricultural empire expands with licensed products, Hawkstone beer and his new pub in the Cotswolds.
The trio left the show in 2015 and returned to TV screens a year later in Amazon Prime's The Grand Tour (pictured). The final episode of the show, which wound up its studio format in favour of elongated travelogues aired last year.
After the three left the BBC, they were replaced on Top Gear by a presenting team that included Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc, motoring journalist Chris Harris and TV presenter Rory Reid.
It was met with a stinging critical and audience reception: Evans left after one series while LeBlanc and Reid were later replaced by Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness.
The trio had taken part in a series high-octane stunts during their three-year stint in the show - with Freddie usually at the forefront of the most adrenaline-pumping fears.
Among the stunts he performed was a car bungee jump in a Rover 100, which was launched from the top of a 500ft dam in Switzerland.
In March 2023, the BBC apologised to Flintoff for his injuries after a report was compiled by health and safety experts both inside and outside of the corporation.
It paid compensation in October that year. The report was not published publicly.
It then put Top Gear on ice a month later - seemingly indefinitely - amid the 'exceptional circumstances' of the crash.
The broadcaster said then that there would be 'more to say in the near future' - but no further announcement on Top Gear has ever come.
A new Disney+ documentary called 'Flintoff ' has laid bare the vivid details of the crash and the former cricketer's subsequent recovery.
The film, by BAFTA-award winning director John Dower, is the first time the 47-year-old has spoken in unfiltered detail about the accident in the Morgan Super 3 sports car.
He was left with horrific injuries after the open-top car he was testing on the BBC motoring show flipped over and slipped along the track at the Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.
The vehicle had no airbags and the crash left Flintoff with severe facial injuries and several broken ribs.
Flintoff didn't leave his house for around six to seven months as the public were initially kept in the dark over how seriously he had been injured after he was dragged along the track, face down, for 50 metres.
Flintoff did reveal that he still struggles with nightmares about the crash along with PTSD and anxiety, but he opened up on the positive impact that returning to cricket has had on his well being.
In 2023, he joined England's coaching staff as a mentor for an ODI series against New Zealand.
Since then, he has worked in a variety of roles with the England's white-ball team, spent time with England Under 19s side, while he is also head coach of Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.
He was then appointed as boss of England Lions, effectively England's second team, last September, and he has been widely praised for his impact by several players.