Andy Wilman, the former executive producer of Top Gear, has revealed that the globally successful BBC show had become an exhausted "s**tshow" by the time Jeremy Clarkson was suspended in 2015, leading the team to potentially accept its fate.
The Exhausting Collapse of a Global Hit
Wilman, a longtime friend and former schoolmate of Jeremy Clarkson, described a production in its final series that was fundamentally falling apart. He stated the relentless schedule had become unsustainable, with the team going on air while still needing to shoot three entire episodes' worth of films.
The programme, which ran for 21 series with Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, was the world's most popular factual TV show. However, Wilman painted a picture of a crew pushed to its limits, comparing their predicament to starting an F1 season without having built the front of the car.
"That pressure in that last series we were filming, the whole thing was collapsing in on itself," Wilman explained. "Our timetables, our everything." The routine involved finishing a studio record on a Wednesday night before immediately departing to a location to film through Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
The Scandal and a Team's Passive Resistance
The breaking point came in 2015 when a producer alleged Clarkson had punched him in a hotel, leading to a BBC investigation, Clarkson's suspension, and ultimately the non-renewal of his contract. Wilman and the co-presenters subsequently left.
Wilman suggested that during the suspension period, there was a sense among the core team that the scandal might be "fate telling us to stop." He observed that Clarkson refused offers of reputational management help and isolated himself, which Wilman interpreted as him awaiting his punishment.
Remarkably, Wilman believes the show's dedicated audience fought more passionately for its survival than those who made it. "The public doing those million-strong petitions were fighting much harder than we ever were," he admitted. "We were done, yeah."
Legacy of Controversy and a New Beginning
The final series was not the first time Top Gear had courted controversy. Wilman acknowledged past mistakes, including remarks deemed racist and offensive comments about Mexican people. The year prior, the team had to flee Argentina after a number plate on Clarkson's car was interpreted as a provocative reference to the Falklands War.
Following the BBC's decision, Wilman criticised the corporation's approach to Hammond and May, accusing it of trying to "split" the trio and "f*** them over." The beloved presenting team, along with Wilman, later reunited to front the similarly styled The Grand Tour for Amazon's Prime Video.
Reflecting on the tumultuous end, Wilman told the High Performance podcast that it felt like a "full stop," adding: "Maybe we were just thinking 'Bloody hell, this is a s**tshow that has to end'."
