Top Gear to Grand Tour: How the trio ended up at Amazon
Amazon recently released the trailer for The Grand Tour in preparation for it's debut. As fans around the world patiently wait for the former Top Gear trio to return to their screens, The Drum looks at the events that led to the slow death of Top Gear and gave birth to The Grand Tour.
Grand Tour trio
The punch
The beginning of it all, Jeremey Clarkson was involved in a ‘Fracas’ with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon. He was accused of verbally and physically abusing the producer, which resulted in the BBC suspending him and cancelling Top Gear till further notice.
Rumour Mills
Not long after the BBC cancelled Top Gear and suspended Jeremy Clarkson, Betfair listed Chris Evans as the most likely person to replace him on the hit motoring show. At the time, Chris Evans categorically denied wanting or being offered the position.
#BringBackClarkson
Fans of the troubled presenter weren’t happy with his suspension and took matters in to their own hands. Political blogger Guido Fawkes began a petition to bring him back to the show. The petition crossed over a million signatures, but even that wasn’t enough to convince the BBC.
Snickers takes advantage
Amid the media frenzy, Snickers pulled off a successfull pr stunt at Jeremy clarksons expense. Snickers sent Jeremy Clarkson a box of 48 snickers, with their famous tagline “you’re not you when you’re hungry”, in reference to his bust up with the Top Gear Producer.
Retirement hints
In his first column since the fracas, Jeremy Clarkson hinted in his column in The Sun that he may be retiring from Top gear. Stating that “We lose one animal and get another. The world turns”
Jeremy Saville
As Jeremey Clarkson failed to lose fans and fellow celebrities support, an unamed BBC executive was quoted in the Mail on sunday. Comparing him to Jimmy Saville the BBC executive went on to say "The pressure this guy [Tymon] is under is so Savilesque in a way”, former Prime Minister David Cameron was among those to lend his support to Jeremy Clarkson.
Lawyer up
Following the damaging quotes from an unnamed BBC executive in the mail on sunday. Jeremy Clarkson instructed his lawyers to pursue a defamation case against the BBC
F**k the BBC
At a charity fundraiser organised by fellow celebrity Christopher Biggins, Jeremy Clarkson went on an expletive filled rant against his former employer.
The troubled presenter was quoted by the Guardian amongst his rant saying “The BBC have fucked themselves, it was a great show and they fucked it up"
Petition Delivery
Once the #BringBackClarkson petition crossed a million signatures, it was delivered to the BBC. Fans of the troubled presenter rode on a tank to the BBC headquarters complete with a stig impersonator at the helm.
P45
The telegraph reported that an internal BBC investigation in to the Fracas had found Jeremy Clarkson at fault. Unable to excuse his behavior the decision to sack him was taken.
The Trio
After the BBC sacked Jeremy Clarkson many speculated that Top Gear would continue with the remaining two presenters. James May put that to rest when he claimed the trio come as a package.
Brand Bandwagon
Trying to make the most of the attention surrounding Top Gear and Jeremy Clarksons dismisall from the BBC, many brands chimed in.
Paddy Power, Papa Johns, Toyota, PG Tips, Virgin Media, and many more took to social media to capture peoples attention.
War of Words
Chris Evans publicly spoke of working on a secret Top Gear film. Jeremy Clarkson and James May quickly took to twitter to ridicule the former radio 2 dj.
Netflix steps in
Daily mail cited sources saying a deal between the trio and Netflix would be closed soon, with an announcement expected within weeks.
Though the deal never happened, it showed the value streaming companies were placing on the former Top gear presenters.
The Finale
Fans finally got to see the final episode recorded by the trio as presenters of Top gear. The finale pulled in over 5 million viewers to the BBC.
Amazon Wot Won it
Following months of speculation, Amazon emerged victorious. The internet giant announced that the former Top Gear trio would produce a new motoring show exclusively for Amazon prime. The show would debut in 2016 with a yet to be announced title.
Fire stick cheeky ad
In his first official appearance for Amazon, Jeremy Clarkson appeared in a commercial to promote the Amazon fire stick. The ad also featured a cheeky reference to his former employer the BBC.
Where there's a blame there's a claim
Top gear producer Oisin Tymon successfully sued Jeremy Clarkson for assaulting him. This resulted in Clarkson paying him £100,000 in damages.
Netflix VS Amazon
After Amazon beat it to an exclusive show with the former Top Gear trio, Netflix gained the global rights to BCC’s top gear with new presenters Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc.
We have a name..
After months of waiting, fans were finally told the name of the new Amazon prime motoring show. Revealed as The Grand Tour it was met with mild amusement by many fans and was ridiculed on social media.
Retro logo
Waiting months for a name, fans were finally treated to the new logo. Jeremy Clarkson took to twitter to reveal the logo for the Amazon prime motoring show
The trailer
After months of secret filming, Amazon finally released a trailer for the grand tour. Fans were delighted to see the former top gear trio back in the driving seat.