The BBC has confirmed that Top Gear will be back on the road sooner rather than later.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this month, Ed Havard, the BBC’s director of entertainment, told audiences: ‘Top Gear is coming back.’
However, he wouldn’t confirm any of the rumours that comedian Jimmy Carr and Traitors star Joe Marler were being lined up to present the rebooted show.
Still, one of the icons from Top Gear’s glory days will reportedly be returning.
According to The Sun, the Stig, aka the series ‘tame racing driver’, will be back behind the wheel when Top Gear is finally rebooted
‘Show bosses will obviously want to mark the start of a new era with some tweaks to the show, but they also want the new Top Gear to have some familiarity,’ an insider told the paper.
Metro readers have their say
‘The Stig was one of the most important elements that went from the golden age under Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May right through to the most recent series in 2022. So bringing them back was a bit of a no-brainer,’ they continued.
So how do the fans feel about this ‘no-brainer’ decision? Well, we asked Metro readers what they thought and let’s just say you had opinions.
The Happy
A lot of our readers seemed genuinely quite pleased with the news.
Damien Gary Marc Pantony said: ‘[You] gotta have The Stig; he’s part of the furniture.’ Meanwhile, Scottie Fisher agreed, saying: ‘You need The Stig’.
In fact, a lot of you thought The Stig’s a critical part of the beloved motoring show and that it just wouldn’t be the same without him. Some even went so far as to suggest who should slip on The Stig’s iconic white racing suit.
‘I honestly think they should bring back Ben as the stig,’ added Dan Stears. ‘Make The Stig part of the presenting team.’
Ben Collins, of course, played The Stig from 2003-2010, arguably the series golden years. Some fans, however, like Marc Taylor, demanded the BBC bring back the OG stick Perry McCarthy.
It was Michael Roberts, however, who asked the biggest question when he wrote: ‘What reasonably priced car will the stig be driving?’
I’m glad someone’s thinking about the future, Michael!
The Sad
Not everyone, however, was thrilled at the news. Stuart W Bowes commented: ‘New show, new ideas. Forget the has-beens’.
And while we’re not sure it’s fair to call The Stig (and previous presenters)’has-beens’ it does pose an interesting question.
Can Top Gear ever really move on from the days of Clarkson and his sidekicks when it keeps an icon like The Stig around? Does the BBC really want to refresh the show, or is it just trying to capture lightning in a bottle again?
And indeed that brings us on to the final group of commentators, those who aren’t happy with the news at all.
The Downright Mad
Jo Clarke kicked things off by saying: ‘Not watched it since they sacked Jezza. Top Gear was Clarkson, Hammond and May with Wilman producing; give it up, well past it’s sell by date.’
They finished by saying that if they’re in the mood for more Top Gear antics, they’ll just watch the recent Grand Tour revival.
Mythology Ava, agreed adding ‘Without the classic 3 presenters, Clarkson, Hammond & May, its not worth watching.’
Dave Smith and Steve Carter went one step further, with both men claiming Top Gear had ‘died years ago’ and the best lesson the BBC could learn was that remakes never work and it’s time to let the show ‘rest in peace’.
So who’s right? Well, the only way to know for certain is to tune into the new Top Gear whenever it eventually roars down the road.