Top Gear (1977 TV series)

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''Top Gear'' was a British motoring magazine programme created by the

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and aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

between 22 April 1977 and 17 December 2001. The programme focused on a range of motoring topics, the most common being car reviews, road safety and consumer advice. Originally presented by

Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and tele ...

and

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

, the show saw a range of different presenters and reporters front the programme's half-hourly slots, including

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' an ...

Tiff Needell Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of ''Top Gear'' and ''Fifth Gear''. Biography Need ...

William Woollard William Woollard (born 23 August 1939, London) is a historian and retired British television producer and presenter. Biography Woollard went to a state grammar school in London and Oxford University. He trained to be a fighter pilot with the ...

and

Quentin Willson Quentin Willson (born 23 July 1957) is an English TV presenter, motoring journalist, author, TV producer and former car dealer, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes ''Britain's Worst Driver'', ''Fifth Gear'', and ...

. The programme proved popular during the late 80s and early 90s, and launched a number of spin-offs, including its own magazine entitled ''

Top Gear Magazine ''Top Gear'' is a British automobile magazine, owned by BBC Worldwide, and published under contract by Immediate Media Company. It is named after the BBC's ''Top Gear'' television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published m ...

''. By 1999, viewing figures in ''Top Gear'' had declined after the departure of notable presenters, leading to the BBC cancelling the programme in 2001. While a number of presenters and production staff moved over to Channel 5 to produce a new motoring programme, Clarkson and fellow presenter Andy Wilman convinced the BBC to revive the programme under a revamped format, relaunching it a year later in October 2002.

Format

''Top Gear'' functioned under a magazine format focusing on key topics that could be covered within each episode's 30-minute timeslot. Presenters focused on various motoring-related subjects, the most common being road tests of new cars, consumer advice, road safety, and motorsport. Other subjects covered varied over its 24-year history, but included elements such as road safety and interviews with figures related to transportation and cars. Alongside standard episodes, the programme included a number of specials focused on cars or journeys.

History

Origins

The original programme and its title were conceived by producer Derek Smith, who proposed the concept to BBC Midlands as a monthly television series with a magazine format aimed at looking at various subjects such as new cars, road safety and other topics, and involving presenters supported by reporters. The format had already been proven by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

's well established ''Drive-In'' (later ''Wheels''), which had been running since 1974, and featured future ''Top Gear'' presenters

Chris Goffey Christopher Robert Goffey (born 17 October 1945)Debrett's
is an English journalist and tel ...

and Sue Baker. BBC Midlands commissioned a series of nine episodes of ''Top Gear'' for 1977, with the production staff operating out of

Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, with Smith assigned as its executive producer, while

and

, the front man of the local evening news programme

Midlands Today ''Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the West Midlands. It was launched in 1964 and is presented by Mary Rhodes, Nick Owen, Elizabeth Glinka, Rebecca Wood and Shefali Oza. Overview ''Midlands Today'' is produc ...

, were hired to present the new programme alongside local reporters. As it was designed mainly as a regional programme, ''Top Gear'' was made available only to BBC Midlands viewers during its broadcast. In 1978, the

...
took interest in ''Top Gear'', and decided upon it being broadcast nationally across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, commissioning ten episodes for the first series. Both Smith and Rippon remained within their respective roles, with Barrie Gill replacing Coyne as co-presenter, with topics covered during its first series including holiday driving, the

MOT test The MOT test (or simply MOT) is an annual test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness aspects and exhaust emissions required in the United Kingdom for most vehicles over three years old. In Northern Ireland the equivalent requirement applies after ...

, a search for a female

rally driver Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

, traffic jams, rust and corrosion, and

tachograph A tachograph is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of modes. The drive mode is activated automatically when the vehicle is in motion, and ...

s in lorries. Alongside the standard motoring topics, the production staff also included films focused on motoring events, such as the

Le Mans 24 Hour The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

race and the

British International Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at Th ...

. A year later, the BBC commissioned a second series, with Rippon and Gill retaining their roles and joined by a new team of reporters.

1980s–1990s

By 1980, the growing popularity of the programme led to the BBC making ''Top Gear'' a staple part of its schedules for

, commissioning two series per year - one for the late Winter-Early Spring schedule, and the other for the Autumn-Early Winter schedule. However, as Rippon and Gill had left the programme after its second series, the responsibility of presenting ''Top Gear'' was assigned to

, who maintained the role of the main presenter for two series before being replaced by

, formerly of BBC1's science series ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'', in 1981. Former ''Drive-In'' / ''Wheels'' presenters Chris Goffey and Sue Baker defected from Thames to the BBC and ''Top Gear'' around the same period. The role of executive producer was maintained by Smith for a further three years before it was handed over to Dennis Adams in 1983. Between 1980–1985, the programme's broadcast included specials that focused on coverage of motoring events, including the bi-annual

British Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at T ...

, and the London Motorfair, though ''Top Gear'' achieved sole dominance of rallying events, a sport that the BBC's sport division could not control. In 1986, Dennis Adams resigned as executive producer, leading to Tom Ross being hired as his replacement, going on to become editor in 1988, leaving his former role to Jon Bentley and Ken Pollock. By this time, the programme underwent a number of subtle changes in its presentation, despite reported threats within the BBC for its cancellation, which were aimed at raising its profile and increasing it audience through a wider range of motoring topics - these included consumer issues, classic cars, motorbikes, and a wide range of motorsport events. Around this time, ''Top Gear'' began to see the involvement of new presenters, several of whom became prominent figures within television, with these new additions including former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver

, and journalist

, whom Bentley recruited after coming across his work in ''

Performance Car Magazine ''Performance Car'', commonly abbreviated to ''PC'', was an automobile magazine from the United Kingdom published by EMAP between October 1983 and July 1998. As suggested by the title, the magazine focussed on the high performance sector of the ...

''. Despite enduring criticism regarding the presentation of the programme, including concerns it encouraged irresponsible driving behaviour, and ignored issues surrounding the impact of driving on the environment, ''Top Gear'' was pulling in high viewing figures, regularly becoming BBC Two's most viewed programme after 1988 with an average of five million viewers. Part of this increased popularity was attributed to the involvement of Clarkson, as his style of presentation and reviewing of cars proved to be well-received with viewers - in a review of the original

Vauxhall Vectra The Opel Vectra is a mid-size car (large family car) that was engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel from 1988 until 2010. Available in saloon, hatchback and estate body styles, the Vectra was also sold by the Vauxhall marque i ...

, Clarkson was bluntly honest about his opinion of the car when he declared that "I know it's the replacement for the

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

. I know. But I'm telling you it's just a box on wheels." In 1991, Ross and Woollard left the programme after its 25th series. While Bentley took over as editor for the 26th series, the 1990s saw a host of new faces taking part to replace others, including car dealer

, Steve Berry, racing driver

Vicki Butler-Henderson Victoria Jemma Butler-Henderson (born 16 February 1972) is a British racing driver, former presenter of ''Top Gear'' and current presenter of ''Fifth Gear''. Biography Butler-Henderson was born into a racing family. Her grandfather used to race ...

, and journalist

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...

. Additional formats were added including a series of car awards for the best car considered by the presenting team. In addition, the programme also received a number of additional spin-offs, and further specials. After ''Top Gears success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a number of competing programmes were introduced, including

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's '' driven'',

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's ''

Pulling Power ''Pulling Power'' is a regional motoring programme shown only on Central Television (ITV in the Midlands) in 1996. However, it returned in 2005 and was shown on ITV1 on a series trial basis until 2008, and it was also as a filler programme at ti ...

'',

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's '' Vroom Vroom'' and

BBC World BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...

's ''India's Wheels''. From 1994, the show also spawned a monthly magazine. This included a customer satisfaction survey which was first highlighted on the show and then published in detail in the magazine. Cars of two and three years old were rated by their customers on a ratio of 1 to 5 for factors including performance, fuel economy, build quality, reliability and dealer service. The

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...

was the winner of the first four surveys (1994 to 1997), followed by the

Subaru Impreza The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Leone, with the predecessor's EA series engines replaced by the new EJ series. It is now in its sixth gen ...

in 1998 and 1999 and the

Subaru Legacy The is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. The maker's flagship car, it is unique in its class for offering all-wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy was sold ...

in 2000 and 2001. The Vauxhall Frontera was judged to be the least satisfying car to own in the original 1994 survey, followed a year later by the Ford Escort, in 1996 and 1997 by the

Lada Samara The VAZ-2108, known as the Lada Samara in much of Western Europe (codenamed and later officially badged as the Lada Sputnik in its native Russia), is a series of small family cars produced by Soviet/Russian vehicle manufacturer AvtoVAZ under the ...

, the

in 1998,

Ford Galaxy The Ford Galaxy is a seven-seater car produced by Ford of Europe from June 1995 to April 2023. Considered in the motor industry to be a large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it was the first Ford-brand MPV produced and marketed outside of North Ame ...

in 1999 and

Vauxhall Sintra Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known fo ...

in 2000 and 2001. Cars from the likes of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

and

Skoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...

also enjoyed consistently good performances in the survey, whereas the opposite was frequently true for many cars from the likes of

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

, Citroen,

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

and

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

were also highlighted at times for failing to match their traditionally high standards of build quality and reliability.

Demise and aftermath

By 1999, after the departure of Clarkson, the peak audience figures of ''Top Gear'', while still favourable, began to decline, affected further by additional members of the presenting team leaving the programme - a notable departure was of Brendan Coogan, who was forced to resign after being convicted of drunk-driving in July. Presenting duties were mainly handled by Willson and

Kate Humble Katherine Mary Humble (born 12 December 1968) is an English television presenter and narrator, mainly working for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. Humble served as President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Bi ...

, before the final series was fronted by

Jason Barlow Jason Barlow is a motoring journalist and broadcaster from Northern Ireland. He began his television career in 1998, when he was approached to present Channel Four's new car programme '' Driven'', with co-presenters Mike Brewer and James May ...

, following his work on

's '' Driven''. Despite remaining a popular programme on BBC Two, with its final series run continuously between September 2000 to October 2001, the BBC determined that ''Top Gear'' deserved no further series and cancelled the programme in December 2001. After the cancellation of ''Top Gear'', most of the production staff and several of the programme's presenters decided to move over to Channel 5, as part of a deal to create a new motoring programme. Under its format, aimed as a fresh take on ''Top Gear''s own, the programme would feature its own car reviews, consumer advice, and other examination of motoring subject, with Tiff Needell, Quentin Willson and Vicki Butler-Henderson working as its presenters, with Jon Bentley working as producer. The programme was launched in April 2002 under the title of ''Fifth Gear'', as the BBC would not relinquish the rights to the name of ''Top Gear'' for legal reasons.

Spin-offs

''Top Gear'' was a title sponsor of the 1987 and 1988

"Winter Series", the 1990 and 1991 Historic Rally Championships and the 1992 and 1993

British Rally Championship The British Rally Championship is a rallying series based in the United Kingdom. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) since 1999. MSA has opted not to run the series in 2015, in ...

s. Due to the success of the main show, other motoring shows on the BBC also carried the ''Top Gear'' name including coverage of the

, a show dedicated to motorsport, presented by Tiff Needell, ''

Top Gear Motorsport ''Top Gear Motorsport'' is a British television programme, covering various forms of motor racing, broadcast on BBC Two from 1994 to 1998. It was a spin-off programme from the popular motoring series ''Top Gear''. The programme was presented by ...

'' and the

Lombard RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...

highlights show, presented by William Woollard, Sue Baker and Tony Mason, '' Top Gear Rally Report''. Quentin Willson presented the classic car show '' The Car's The Star'' which told the story of famous classic cars, running for six series between 1994 and 1999.

Presenter line-up

Theme music

The show's opening theme music from the very first programme in 1977 was the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surnam ...

instrumental " Jessica" from the album '' Brothers and Sisters'' (1973), although remixed versions were used after 1999. For much of the series' lifespan,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's instrumental "Out of the Blue" from the album ''

Blue Moves ''Blue Moves'' is the eleventh studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in October 1976. It was John's second double album (after ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'') and the first to be released by his own label, Rocket Records ...

'' (1976) played over the closing credits. The opening and closing titles music were suggested to executive producer Derek Smith by his son Graham, who had the two albums at home. He played the tracks to his father and was asked to write down the details, so they could be sourced from the record library in the BBC.

Merchandising

In September 1993, the BBC launched a magazine entitled ''

'', which featured articles and columns from the presenters and additional contributors, as well as a customer satisfaction survey from 1994. The magazine became a commercial hit across the United Kingdom in the wake of its launch. In addition, the broadcaster also launched CD albums and a selection of VHS sets consisting of unique specials, presented by the team between 1994-2000.

CD releases

* (1994) ''Top Gear'' – 36 track rock compilation on 2 discs (Epic Records). * (1995) ''Top Gear 2'' – 36 track rock compilation on 2 discs (Columbia Records). * (1995) ''Top Gear Classics: Turbo Classics'' – compilation of 17 classical tracks on a single disc (PolyGram TV). * (1995) ''Top Gear Classics: Baroque Busters'' – compilation of 18 classical baroque tracks on a single disc (Deutsche Grammophon). * (1995) ''Top Gear Classics: Open Top Opera'' – compilation of 18 tracks from classic operas on a single disc (Deutsche Grammophon). * (1995) ''Top Gear Classics: Motoring Moods'' – compilation of 12 classical tracks on a single disc (Deutsche Grammophon/PolyGram TV). * (1996) ''Top Gear 3: Rock Ballads'' – 38 tracks of rock and pop on 2 discs (Columbia Records). * (1996) ''Top Gear: On the Road Again'' – 36 track pop compilation on 2 discs (EMI TV). * (1998) ''Top Gear Anthems'' – 38 tracks of rock and electronic music on 2 discs (Virgin Records).

VHS releases

* (1994) ''Top Gear: Super Cars'' – Presented by Jeremy Clarkson and Tiff Needell (63 min). * (1994) ''Top Gear: Classic Cars'' – Presented by Quentin Willson (65 min). * (1997) ''Top Gear: Fast & Furious'' – Presented by Jeremy Clarkson and Tiff Needell (77 min). * (1998) ''Classic Cars: Aston Martin'' – Presented by Jeremy Clarkson (45 min). * (1998) ''Classic Cars: Porsche'' – Presented by Tiff Needell (45 min). * (1998) ''Classic Cars: Ferrari'' – Presented by Chris Goffey (45 min). * (1998) ''Classic Cars: Jaguar'' – Presented by Quentin Willson (45 min). * (1999) ''Top Gear: 21 Years of Top Gear'' – (preproduction/promotional release of TV special) Presented by Kate Humble (29 min). * (2000) ''Top Gear: Fast and Furious 2'' – Presented by Tiff Needell (with foreword by Clarkson, Willson and Butler-Henderson) (72 min).

Relaunch

After the first series of ''Fifth Gear'' was completed, the BBC decided to relaunch ''Top Gear'', but in a new studio based format as opposed to the magazine format used until the cancellation. The idea came from producer Andy Wilman and

, who presented the relaunched show with Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe.

replaced Dawe from the second series onwards of the current format. The pre-cancellation show is referred to as "Old ''Top Gear''", when mentioned on the new show due to the differences in style.

References

External links

* {{Top Gear BBC Television shows 1977 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings 1970s British television series 1980s British television series 1990s British television series English-language television shows Television series by BBC Studios Driving in the United Kingdom Top Gear 1977