by David Bates
Clarkson Hammond May set for on-screen return
Jeremy Clarkson has confirmed that he, Richard Hammond and James May will be making another motoring program.
During a ‘Clarkson, Hammond and May’ live show in Perth, Australia – rebranded from ‘Top Gear Live’ for legal reasons following Clarkson’s dismissal from the BBC in March – the Doncaster man took to the stage to tell the audience that “there will be a car show on the internet or in your house”, going as far as to present a tongue-in-cheek blooper reel of their new production, in which Clarkson mispronounces “Porsche 911”.
The trio’s particular brand of humour looked mockingly back at the fall-out from Top Gear, with Clarkson joking that he was “too shy” for television and James May suggesting he would be better suited to life as a “producer” or a “diplomat”.
The sold-out 14,000-capacity audience witnessed an array of vehicular treats, including motorbike polo and car rugby, whilst the original Top Gear trio represented Team England against hosts of the Australian equivalent Shane Jacobson, Steve Pizzati, and Riana Crehan, in a series of challenges dubbed the ‘Cr-Ashes’.
The British team referenced the legal restrictions which have continued to hamper them since March, which forbid their involvement in a motor-based television program in the UK for the next two years, when joking that “for legal reasons, nothing we have ever done together has ever happened…our lawyers tell us that, for legal reasons, we have never met”.
Exploding caravans may be a thing of the past in Britain (for now), however motorhome users in America may not rest so easy; Clarkson and his sidekicks are expected to head across the pond to circumvent legal regulations, with Amazon and Netflix thought to be involved in bidding for the new show.
