They became global superstars on Top Gear and have spent the last eight years making The Grand Tour, but now Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have finally decided to end their professional lives together.
The trio have formally dissolved their joint production company, W. Chump and Sons, which was responsible for making The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime, effectively bringing to an end arguably the most famous team in automotive entertainment. In addition to their television work the group also formed DriveTribe, an online platform for automotive content. It launched in 2016, alongside The Grand Tour, but was closed down in its original form in 2022, with some content surviving on YouTube and other social media platforms.
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The trio became famous when they came together on the revived format for failed British motoring show, Top Gear, in 2002. The show had originally been on the BBC since 1977 but was canceled in 2001 after falling ratings. Clarkson and producer, Andy Wilman, created a new format and it proved to be an international hit.
Despite enormous ratings the BBC chose not to renew Clarkson’s contract after 2015, after he assaulted a member of the production team on a shoot. In a show of unity, Hammond and May opted to leave the BBC and were picked up by Amazon Prime for The Grand Tour.
Clarkson is now busy with his own reality TV show, Clarkson’s Farm, which follows his real-life issues running his Diddly Squat farm. While Hammond and May have both produced television specials on a variety of topics.
The BBC continues to make versions of Top Gear, most recently the revived Australian series, which is shown on streaming service, Paramount+.
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