Top Gear producer Andy Wilman has disclosed how the team ultimately chose to part ways with an original presenter after recognising the programme was taking a completely different path.
The television producer, who collaborated with Jeremy Clarkson, 66, for decades and helped turn Top Gear into a worldwide phenomenon, reflected on the show's early difficulties during an appearance on the High Performance podcast with Jake Humphrey.
When asked whether he could now view the early episodes with satisfaction, Wilman confessed he holds little fondness for the show's first run. In fact, he revealed he once demanded the BBC shelve the first series of Top Gear due to its poor quality.
Remembering the BBC's tendency to replay archive episodes, he explained: "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 questioned if this was genuine, the producer confirmed: "Yeah. I said, 'Cuz it's so s***.'" Jake then enquired whether the series remained accessible anywhere, prompting Wilman to say: "Couldn't see it anywhere. Now, as soon as it all went ts up and we were all shown the door, they started punting it out, but it was so c compared to later series."
Wilman revealed that the show had not yet discovered the winning formula that would subsequently turn Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May into household names. During the inaugural series, motoring journalist Jason Dawe presented the news segment, reflecting a 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. Nevertheless, as the show developed, the team found themselves drawn towards increasingly quirky and entertaining challenges instead of practical 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 that transformation that the production team determined the programme no longer required a focus on second-hand car bargains and consumer guidance. "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, whom they had desired from the outset but "hadn't been allowed to have". The producer's remarks emerged as he looked back on his enduring collaboration with Clarkson.
Wilman now serves as executive producer of the popular Amazon programme Clarkson's Farm, which documents Clarkson's efforts to operate Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds. During the podcast, the experienced television producer discussed the difficulty of transitioning from the high-octane world of motoring television to a show focused on the daily practicalities of farming, a shift that has resonated strongly with audiences.
