Amazon signs Top Gear team

Former Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are set to host a new car show for Amazon Prime Video after signing a global TV deal. Clarkson, who has changed his Twitter biography to “I am a presenter on an Amazon motoring show”, says the move away from terrestrial television makes him “feel like I’ve climbed out of a bi-plane and into a spaceship”. Hammond jokes: “Amazon? Oh, yes. I’ve already been there. I got bitten by a bullet ant.” May adds: “We have become part of the new age of smart TV. Ironic, isn’t it?” Watching the show will require fans to sign up to Amazon’s £79-per-year streaming service. Top Gear’s former executive producer, Andy Wilman, is also on board, but rights to The Stig remain with the BBC. The deal is a coup for Amazon, although the presenters were hamstrung by their old BBC contracts preventing them hosting a car show for a UK TV channel for the next two years, which scuppered their plans to move to ITV. Netflix were also said to be interested in signing them. Subscribers in the UK, US and Germany will be able to watch the series through Prime, and plans are afoot to sell the show to other countries.  

Explaining the attractions of Amazon after years with the BBC, Wilman says: “Everyone we have talked to has said to us, ‘they leave you alone to make your show’. “That’s a big one for us – we don’t like interference.” The format will be familiar to Top Gear viewers with a mix of studio-based chat and international adventures. Wilman says the three presenters will have “more time to yak” and their friendship would remain the show's central element. Some Amazon series, including the comedy drama Transparent, are made available all in one go so subscribers can “binge-watch” if they want. However, Wilman says the new show will likely stick to the once-a-week schedule familiar to Top Gear’s BBC Two viewers. Jay Marine, vice-president of Amazon Prime Video EU, says: “Customers told us they wanted to see the team back on screen, and we are excited to make that happen. Millions of Prime members are already enjoying our ground-breaking original shows. We can’t wait to see what Jeremy, Richard, James and the team will create in what’s sure to be one of the most globally anticipated shows of 2016.”