James May says Top Gear “needs a new format and a new approach”

Former Top Gear presenter James May has been discussing the troubled show, saying it needs a rethink, and stating that it’s time for “a new format and a new approach.”

Top Gear is one of the BBC’s most popular shows, but after presenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff was seriously injured in a car accident on location, the series was put on pause.

This week, the corporation released a statement revealing that Top Gear would be rested, and therefore not return for the “foreseeable future.”

Now James May – who presented the show for the best part of 15 years alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond – has spoken about the status of Top Gear.

James May says Top Gear “needs a new format and a new approach”

Speaking to Radio 4, James May said: “My honest view is – I can say this now – it does need a bit of a rethink. It’s time for a new format and a new approach to the subject because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car has been invented.”

"The thing about Top Gear is… it does need a bit of a rethink'

Former presenter James May gives his reaction to Nick & Amol following the news the show won't return for the foreseeable future.

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— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) November 22, 2023

May added that Top Gear has “followed a very similar format and framework to the way we left it…. we’re getting quite old and we already do that. There’s another way. I’m not saying I know what it is but there must be another way of doing a show about cars that will perhaps embrace more fulsomely many of the questions that are being asked about cars now that weren’t for a long time.”

When asked what that might be, May said” “Like everything else in the world now, [cars] are under scrutiny. How they’re used, how they’re made, how they’re disposed of, what they are used for, how we take responsibility for them, how they are powered. All of these things are in question with cars, which makes them a fascinating subject for this time.”

What the BBC said about Top Gear

In this week’s statement, the BBC said it “remains committed to [presenters] Freddie [Flintoff], Chris [Harris] and Paddy [McGuinness], who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them. We will have more to say in the near future on this.”

The press release also stated: “We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do. All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus, including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.”

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