# New Top Gear cast ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259 "2015-05-04T18:14:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/1 "2015-05-04T18:14:06Z")
> **[BBC 'has chosen dream team' of Top Gear presenters to replace Jeremy Clarkson](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/15/bbc-has-chosen-dream-team-of-top-gear-presenters-to-replace-jere/)** > > The BBC has reportedly chosen a “dream team” of presenters for its new version of Top Gear that includes the former model Jodie Kidd. I do not know if this paper is worth reading. I have loved Jodie Kidd since she made those horse sounds on her timed lap, but I’m easy like that. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/2 "2015-05-04T18:44:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Ms Kidd, who is the granddaughter of Canadian newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook Oh come on. That can’t be a real thing. I think British people like to sneak in little fanciful random comments into their news articles to make fun of the Americans who might be reading them. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/3 "2015-05-04T19:00:17Z")
It’s tough enough getting a double act to work. Glenister’s an actor, no idea as a presenter.You can see the thinking but who knows about the chemistry. I suspect most people would have put money on the original three not appealing as a team. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/4 "2015-05-04T19:04:49Z")
It’s never going to be as good. Clarkson, Hammond and May had terrific chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/5 "2015-05-04T19:14:12Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Oh come on. That can’t be a real thing. I think British people like to sneak in little fanciful random comments into their news articles to make fun of the Americans who might be reading them. It’s not a real thing. She’s actually his great-granddaugher. Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook) was appointed Minister for Aircraft Production, by Churchill, in 1940, which was quite an important role at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/6 "2015-05-04T19:21:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s never going to be as good. Clarkson, Hammond and May had terrific chemistry. The main thing is that the chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond and May happened by accident. Trying to get the same result by design always just ends up like the worst threesome you ever had in college. It’ll be awkward as fuck for the participants, and mostly boring for everyone watching. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/7 "2015-05-04T19:27:32Z")
Also, they’ve developed the relationship among them over time, so that May has the reputation for slowness (but also seems the most analytic of the three) while Clarkson is of course the blowhard. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/8 "2015-05-04T19:31:18Z")
Interesting. I’ve heard good things about Jodie Kidd but don’t know much about her _(I don’t watch much TV or follow celebrity news)_, Guy Martin has a good sense of humour and is entertaining but he has a very strong accent and might be difficult to understand. I don’t know anything about Glenister to comment either way. I’m not going to write a new series of Top Gear off without giving at least a couple of episodes a watch. To be honest it was getting more than a bit formulaic, this is a chance to try something different. The very worst thing they could do is to try and follow the exact same format just with new presenters. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/9 "2015-05-04T19:42:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s never going to be as good. Clarkson, Hammond and May had terrific chemistry. I recently saw the episode where Jeremy, Richard, and James were in Scotland trying to build a Caterham kit car faster than The Stig could drive from the Caterham factory. Dear God, Clarkson was insufferable in that one; made me miss him a lot less. Also recently saw the Patagonia special. Scary. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/10 "2015-05-04T19:53:07Z")
Glenister showed decent potential on “For the Love of Cars”. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/11 "2015-05-05T01:19:47Z")
I am hoping its some sort of joke or spoof but with the BBC its always hard for an American to tell. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/12 "2015-05-05T01:23:00Z")
Does _Fifth Gear_ still exist? I believe it was the format that _Top Gear_ was before it became the Jezza/Hamster/Captain Slow juggernaut. Seems to me any new direction will hamstring it into a _Fifth Gear_ clone. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/13 "2015-05-05T01:44:22Z")
I’m watching an episode of \*The Classic Car Show \* with Kidd and Quentin Willson, one of my favorite authors. She’s okay as a host. Helps that they have her slinking around in a 280 SL, as God intended. Gained some weight from her _Top Gear_ days, all in the right places. The Barn Finds guy is slobbering all over a Reliant Scimitar, of all things. As Clarkson showed us, it’s not nearly as funny as a Reliant Robin. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/14 "2015-05-05T09:50:07Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Does _Fifth Gear_ still exist? I believe it was the format that _Top Gear_ was before it became the Jezza/Hamster/Captain Slow juggernaut. Seems to me any new direction will hamstring it into a _Fifth Gear_ clone. I believe it still shows on Channel 5 with Quentin Willson, an original presenter of Top Gear. Personally, I won’t be watching any new Top Gear. They seem to think its popularity was to do with it being about cars. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/15 "2015-05-05T13:56:38Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Personally, I won’t be watching any new Top Gear. They seem to think its popularity was to do with it being about cars. For me it was about the cars, at least in say a better than 50% sort of way. They did so many different things with such a wide range of cars that it was seriously interesting to the (to use the British expression) motor-head in me. They also managed to do serious testing and comparison mixed with humor so well. If you could find three new people who could do that as well I could find myself watching it. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/16 "2015-05-05T16:07:04Z")
and, tbf, Jodie Kidd has better tits than even Clarkson. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/17 "2015-05-05T22:21:59Z")
But she’s lost the ability to put on makeup and do her hair. It’s just wrong, somehow. But I’ll soldier on with Classic Cars because that is about the cars. The cars of my youth. You know, shitty British rust buckets with SUs out of tune. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/18 "2015-05-06T03:04:12Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > The main thing is that the chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond and May happened by accident. Trying to get the same result by design always just ends up like the worst threesome you ever had in college. It’ll be awkward as fuck for the participants, and mostly boring for everyone watching. Clearly, I should have gone to your alma mater. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/19 "2015-05-06T11:55:37Z")
As an American I came into the Top Gear thing late. It was already fully formed when I first saw it. The relationships had already developed. A new crew will seem forced. Like the American version. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259/20 "2015-05-06T12:02:33Z")
Im surprised Vicki Butler-Henderson rarely gets mentioned for Top Gear nowadays. She was my favourite presenter before the show was revamped all those years ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-top-gear-cast/719259.md?page=2)