Who would have thought that watching three middle-aged berks twatting about in cars and acting like buffoons across the world could be so endearingly entertaining? All good things must end, though, and now the end has arrived for The Grand Tour.
After 22 years working together, with their lighthearted take on, motoring journalism James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson are hanging up their car keys.
Starting together on the revitalized and relaunched BBC motoring show Top Gear, they propelled that show to be one of the British broadcasting giant’s biggest and most profitable exports.
The show had an estimated worldwide audience of 350 million, and was listed by Guinness World Records as officially being the highest-viewed factual television programme.
When Clarkson was sacked after a physical altercation with a producer, Hammond and May decided to walk with him.
They set up their own production company and soon Amazon came calling complete with a massive bag of Jeff Bezos’ money. The Grand Tour was born.
What started as a more expensive, better-produced Top Gear soon developed into a series of specials featuring their bickering adventures – always a highlight of both shows in previous formats.
However, late in 2022, the trio announced they really were getting too old for this sh*t. In fact, they said if they kept it up much longer then one of them might really die on television.
The day all fans have been dreading is fast approaching.
The final special is due to air in just a few weeks, and then it is all over.
Here is the teaser:
The final ever episode of The Grand Tour was filmed in Zimbabwe. Titled One For The Road, it is set to be released on 13 September 2024 on Amazon.
We will all raise a pint of Hawkstone lager in tribute as one of the last bastions against political correctness on television disappears from our screens.