The new hosts of The Grand Tour have spoken about the pressure of succeeding Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, with Thomas Holland admitting the task has been "daunting".
Francis Bourgeois, James Engelsman and Thomas Holland appeared on Thursday's (September 3) episode of The One Show ahead of the revamped motoring show's launch. The trio were asked about their new role, and Thomas revealed that taking over from the much-loved presenters has been a challenging experience.
Pressure of a 'daunting' role
The new presenters have been handed one of the biggest jobs in motoring television, following Jeremy, Richard and James' departure from The Grand Tour after nearly a decade of adventures around the world. Speaking to hosts Alex Jones and Lauren Laverne about the pressure of taking on such an iconic show, Thomas said: "It's very daunting because this show means so much to so many, including us."
He added: "We are huge fans of it, so there was a lot of thought put into making sure we made the show we would want to watch if we were fans watching the new version of it."
Advice from the original trio
The trio, who are now preparing to find out whether they can win over viewers, have already received some advice from the men they are replacing. James revealed that Jeremy offered some typically blunt words of wisdom.
"Those who know Jeremy Clarkson know that he doesn't mince his words and the advice he gave us was concise and not appropriate for BBC," James said.
Jeremy, Richard and James first became one of TV's most famous presenting teams on Top Gear before launching The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video in 2016. Their final special together, One for the Road, was released in 2024 and marked the end of their time as the show's hosts.
A new era for the show
Now, for the first time, The Grand Tour is entering a new era. Francis Bourgeois, best known for his hugely popular trainspotting videos, joins Canadian motoring YouTubers James Engelsman and Thomas Holland for the new series.
The six-part series will see them travel to locations including Angola, Malaysia and California, tackling everything from performance cars to extreme challenges. There will still be plenty of the familiar things that viewers associate with The Grand Tour like fast cars, spectacular locations and ridiculous challenges.
The new series of The Grand Tour launches on Prime Video on September 4.
