Top Gear producer Andy Wilman has disclosed the team ultimately chose to part company with an original presenter after recognising the programme was moving in a completely different direction.
The television producer, who collaborated with Jeremy Clarkson, 66, for decades and helped turn Top Gear into a worldwide success, reflected on the show's early difficulties during an appearance on the High Performance podcast with Jake Humphrey.
Asked whether he could now view the early episodes with pride, Andy confessed he has little fondness for the programme's initial run. In fact, he said he once demanded the BBC bury the first series of Top Gear because it was so dreadful.
Recalling the BBC's tendency to repeat old episodes, he said: "Well, that first series, I forbade the BBC, when I had the power to do it, to show series one, you know, because they put them on repeat. I was like, 'No, that one goes into like a vault.'"
When Jake asked whether that was accurate, Andy responded: "Yeah. I said, 'Cuz it's so s***.'"
Jake then questioned whether the series could still be viewed anywhere, prompting Andy to add: "Couldn't see it anywhere. Now, as soon as it all went t**s up and we were all shown the door, they started punting it out, but it was so c*** compared to later series."
Andy revealed that the show had yet to discover the winning formula that would eventually catapult Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May to fame. During the opening series, motoring journalist Jason Dawe helmed the news segment, reflecting the programme's stronger emphasis on consumer guidance.
"Jason was good, but that was a hangover of us going 'people need consumer news' and we'll give them that because you help people save a few quid," he said.
Yet as the show developed, the team found themselves drawn towards increasingly outlandish and entertaining challenges rather than straightforward purchasing advice.
"Once again, organically as we start to go, 'Hey, can a granny do a donut? Hey, can a nun jump a monster truck?' And these are little fill-in things that we're doing to amuse ourselves, and the Stig starts to become a character that kids are loving."
It was during this transition that the production team decided the programme no longer needed to concentrate on second-hand car deals and consumer tips.
"You start to realise quite quickly that there's no point in us talking about, you know, deals on used Citroëns. We'll leave that to someone else," he said.
Consequently, the team "kind of parted company" with Dawe and recruited May, who had been their preferred choice from the outset but whom they "hadn't been allowed to have".
These remarks came as Andy reflected on his lengthy working relationship with Clarkson. He is currently executive producer of the hugely popular Amazon series Clarkson's Farm, which documents Clarkson's efforts to manage Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds.
Speaking on the podcast, he discussed the difficulties of transitioning from the high-octane world of motoring television to a programme rooted in the day-to-day realities of farming — a shift that has proven enormously popular with audiences.
