Top Gear has been confirmed to return, with comedian Jimmy Carr reportedly in talks for a presenter role.
The BBC’s globally-beloved motoring series has been off air for four years, since a major crash left former co-host Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff with serious injuries. The presenter later received a £9 million settlement in compensation for the incident.
Last week, U.K. tabloid newspaper The Sun claimed that standup star Jimmy Carr was in talks to join the series for a then-unannounced reboot. Well, he does have the perfect last name.
Today, the BBC itself has now confirmed that it is mounting plans for a Top Gear revival — though stopped short of announcing any talent attached.
“There has been a lot of speculation about this and we can confirm that Top Gear is coming back,” the corporation’s director of entertainment Ed Havard said, via BBC News.
“I’m not going to talk about talent today,” Havard continued. “Jimmy would be a great host but I won’t be discussing that today. We will have more information on Top Gear shortly.”
Earlier this year, Amazon Prime’s rival series The Grand Tour confirmed plans for its own return, something that may have spurred the BBC on with its own Top Gear comeback. Indeed, original Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will appear in The Grand Tour’s new season, despite handing over their full-time presenting duties.
Image credit: Gareth Cattermole/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
