London - Top Gear might be close to the end of the road - but it looks as though its three stars are working out an alternative destination.
A mystery meeting between Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond on Thursday fuelled speculation that the trio could be getting ready to announce a new motoring show with another broadcaster.
Also present at the meeting was Andy Wilman, the show’s executive producer and a close friend of Mr Clarkson. Regarded as the brains behind Top Gear, Wilman quit his role on Thursday.
And just hours earlier, May declared that he and Hammond would not return to the show without Mr Clarkson.
Pictured together for the first time since Clarkson was sacked last month, the three hosts of the BBC2 series looked relaxed and jovial after the meeting at Clarkson’s flat in West London.
WHY WAS WILMAN THERE?
The presence of Wilman will only heighten speculation that the group could move en masse and launch a new show on a rival channel. ITV is tipped as a potential contender, alongside Netflix, the online video streaming service.
Mr Wilman’s departure comes a month after he sent the show’s team an email titled “au revoir”.
It was written soon after Clarkson, 55, was sacked for punching producer Oisin Tymon in a row over steak. At the time, Wilman denied it was a resignation statement, but it thanks staff for their efforts and says: “At least we left ’em wanting more. And that alone, when you think about it, is quite an achievement for a show that started 13 years ago.”
THE SHOW WILL GO ON
He added: “For those of you who still rely on it for work, don’t worry, because the BBC will make sure the show continues.
“Our stint as guardians of Top Gear was a good one, but we were only part of the show’s history, not the whole of it. Those two words are bigger than us.” In a newspaper interview yesterday, May, who has co-hosted the series since 1999, insisted it would be “daft” to do it without Clarkson.
“Me and Hammond with a surrogate Jeremy is a non-starter. It has to be the three of us,” he said.
Last night May’s agent tried to play down rumours of defection, insisting the 53-year-old has not formally left the BBC and that “conversations regarding the future of BBC’s Top Gear are ongoing”.
The BBC, which still owns the rights to the Top Gear name and format, has said it will bring it back next year in a new incarnation. The brand raised around £50 million (R917m) a year before Clarkson left.
Daily Mail