RICHARD Hammond and James May have returned to their former Top Gear studios – a decade after quitting the BBC series.
The smash-hit motoring show – which was axed last year – was presented by the duo alongside Jeremy Clarkson.
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The show became one of the BBC’s biggest money makers with spin-off shows being sold around the world.
All three hosted the show from 2002 until 2015 when they walked away from the format.
After they left, the trio became the faces of Amazon’s motoring show The Grand Tour from 2016 until it ended last year.
But as part of James May’s YouTube series called Planet Gin, he and Richard, 55, returned to Top Gear’s former studio in Dunsfold Aerodrome.
Reminiscing about their time at the location, the pair admitted their trip down memory lane might be “traumatising”.
James, 62, told viewers: “Well that is the old Top Gear studio. And that is the old Top Gear green room.”
Richard added: “Where we assembled, worked on scripts, had arguments. I feel funny. I feel funny as well. I felt really odd being here.”
The men both reflected on the final time they were at the location before beginning to explore the green room.
Richard said: “The last time I was here, I was leaving after the last studio record.
“I was in the bronze Land Rover. And I sat up and thought, well, that was that.”
While moving through the various rooms at Top Gear’s abandoned HQ, they almost let slip a secret game they played.
May blurted “And we used to… I don’t know if we can talk about this.”
Hammond simply replied: “We used to play that game.”
The Grand Tour episode guide
How many seasons of The Grand Tour are there and where do they take place?
The Grand Tour launched on Prime Video in 2016 and quickly became one of the streamer’s biggest hits as hosts Jeremy, 63, James, 60, and Richard, 52, felt it was time they move on from Top Gear hit the road.
They have now brought five epic series of motoring adventures to the small screen, each taking place in different locations and even featuring celebrity guests.
Series 1
- Series 1 aired from 2016 to 2017 and took the presenters to a number of foreign locales, including Jordan, Morocco and Italy.
- The series is comprised of 13 episodes, with episodes 7 and 8 making up a two-part special set in Namibia, where the trio embarked on an epic beach buggy challenge.
Series 2
- Jeremy, Richard and James returned for more motoring actor in series 2, and drove their way across Europe as they tested out some of their dream vehicles like the Bugatti Chiron and the McLaren 720S.
- This series, which aired from 2017 to 2018, is made up of 11 episodes. It features regular ‘studio segments’ filmed in the team’s permanent tent in the Cotswolds, and had regular participation from celebrities with two guests going head-to-head on timed laps every episode.
Series 3
- In 2019, the presenting trio crossed continents – from North America, to South America, to Europe and Asia – putting both new vehicles and classic sports cars through their paces.
- This series was the last to feature the regular studio segments, car reviews and timed laps.
- To mark the end of this era the final episode’s last segment includes a montage of scenes featuring the presenters over the course of their career as a trio, not only from this programme, but also from their time hosting Top Gear.
Series 4
- This series marked a complete change in format for The Grand Tour as it consists entirely for feature-length specials which aired between 2019 and 2021.
- The first two chronicle Jeremy, Richard and James’ epic adventures across Asia and Africa, while the third and fourth episodes saw them put foreign cars to the test on their home turf. And fitting American vehicles through Scottish roads is no easy feat.
Series 5
- Following the same format as series 4, the fifth and final series of The Grand Tour also consists of four feature-length specials.
- The first of these hits screens in 2022 and follows the trio as they travelled through Norway, Sweden and Finland in three Rally-Inspired Sports Saloons.
- The second episode was another Euro adventure while the third took the presenters back to Africa.
- The fourth instalment of the series and final ever episode of The Grand Tour, titled One for the Road, premieres on September 13, 2024. It promises to be an emotional one as the trio set out on one epic final adventure in Zimbabwe and reflect on their 22-year-long working relationship and friendship.
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