Top Gear


2:20 pm - 3:20 pm, Friday, July 10 on U&DaveJaVu (74)

Average User Rating: 4.33 (12 votes)
My Rating: Sign in or Register to view last vote

Add to Favourites

About this Broadcast

-

Season 10, Episode 7

In an edition first broadcast in 2007, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May celebrate British Leyland's 40th birthday by trying to boost the reputation of the cars that once rolled off its production line. The Aston Martin DBS is put through its paces on the test track, Jennifer Saunders is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car and the team asks whatever happened to the beach buggy


subtitles 16x9 audio-description
Leisure Hobbies Motoring

Cast & Crew

-

James May (Presenter)
Richard Hammond (Presenter)
Jeremy Clarkson (Presenter)
Pat Doyle (Series producer)
Brian Klein (Director)
Andy Willman (Executive producer)

More Information

-

No Logo

Did You Know..

-

James May (Presenter)
Born: January 16, 1963 in Bristol
Best Known For: Being Captain Slow on Top Gear.
Early-life: James Daniel May was born on January 16, 1963, in Bristol. He has a brother and two sisters. He attended school in Rotherham with Life on Mars star Dean Andrews before heading to Lancaster University to study music. After graduating, May made ends meet in a series of jobs, including working in a hospital. During a stint with an engineering company, he produced a leaflet and liked what it involved, so applied for a job as a magazine sub-editor. He then worked for Autocar, but was fired after inserting a 'secret' message in the text.
Career: May's TV career began in 1998 with the Channel 4 series Driven, which ran for four years. In 1999, he landed a presenting role on BBC's Top Gear before it was axed due to low ratings. He rejoined the revamped version of the show in its second series. Other projects for the BBC have included Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, James May's 20th Century, James May's Big Ideas, James May's Man Lab, and James May's Toy Stories.
Quote: On his sex-symbol status: 'Perhaps they look at me in the way that I might look at a slightly tacky Jaguar XJS, and think 'that's potentially not bad, maybe I could improve that'.'
Trivia: Away from TV, he has written columns for several publications and penned the books May on Motors and Notes from the Hard Shoulder.
Richard Hammond (Presenter)
Born: December 19, 1969 in Solihull
Best Known For: Co-hosting Top Gear, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May.
Early-life: Richard Mark Hammond was born in Birmingham on December 19, 1969. His mum Eileen, father Alan and younger brothers Andrew and Nicholas moved to Ripon where his father ran a probate business. After attending Harrogate College of Art and Technology, Richard decided not to pursue a degree and instead took a series of part-time jobs, including working behind the bar of a pub and being a 'chicken chaser' at a local farm.
Career: His broadcasting career began on local radio, before he got his big TV break hosting a number of daytime shows on Men & Motors. In 2002, he landed a slot on BBC's Top Gear, where he was given the nickname Hamster. Other series Richard has presented include Crufts, the British Parking Awards, Should I Worry About…?, The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding the Legend, Time Commanders, and Sky One's Brainac: Science Abuse. He was also a team captain on the quiz show Petrolheads and narrated the BBC series Last Man Standing. In recent years, he has started presenting serious documentaries on such subjects as warfare and engineering, and secured a world exclusive interview with his hero, Evel Knievel. He is the current face of the rather silly but very enjoyable Total Wipeout.
Quote: On his Top Gear colleagues: 'Of course we get on - the show wouldn't work if we didn't get on. The arguments you see on-screen are for real and often carry on off-screen as well.'
Trivia: He has published books on motoring and science.
Jeremy Clarkson (Presenter)
Born: April 11, 1960 in Doncaster
Best Known For: Presenting Top Gear.
Early-life: Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson was born on April 11th, 1960, and claims he could say 'Maserati' before he could say 'mummy'. He was the only son of affluent parents who manufactured Paddington Bear dolls. His passion for cars began as a child, but he admits to losing interest during his teens when he discovered girls and punk rock. Jeremy attended public school for five years, but was expelled shortly before he was due to take his A-levels. His first car was a Ford Cortina.
Career: Jeremy was employed as a trainee journalist on the Rotherham Advertiser, but he quit while reporting on a local agricultural show because he grew tired of the marrow-growers and Pony Club mums. He joined the family firm as a salesman and moved to London, where he found a new career as a motoring writer. In 1987, he met a Top Gear producer at a car launch and was invited on to the show. He quickly became one of its most popular presenters, but left the programme in 1998 to concentrate on other projects. Other series he has fronted include Speed, Meet The Neighbours and his own chat show, Clarkson. However, he missed talking about cars and returned to a revamped Top Gear, which is now one of the world's most-watched shows.
Quote: 'It's amazing how easily people are upset. When I said that a car snapped knicker elastic at 50 paces, I couldn't believe the furore that was created.'
Trivia: He lent his vocals to the first Cars movie, and the Forza 5 video game.
Jennifer Saunders (Guest)
Born: July 06, 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire
Best Known For: Absolutely Fabulous.
Early-life: Born Jennifer Jane Saunders on July 6, 1958, in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. Her father was in the RAF and she briefly spent time on the same forces camp as her future comedy partner Dawn French, but the pair never met as children. Instead, they got to know each other while attending London's Central School of Speech and Drama in 1977, where they were both on a teaching training course. They later teamed up with Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle and Peter Richardson to create the The Comic Strip Presents series.
Career: Appearances in The Young Ones, Girls on Top and Happy Families followed, but it was the sketch show French and Saunders that propelled her to fame. One short skit in the series became the basis for Absolutely Fabulous. The sitcom's phenomenal global success opened new doors, and helped land Jennifer roles in the movies In the Bleak Midwinter, Spice World and Fanny and Elvis. She also voiced a not-so-good fairy godmother in hit animation Shrek 2 and stars in the BBC's Blandings. As well as the film and TV work, she has long been an active participant in the charity Comic Relief, alongside her on-screen partner Dawn French, and regularly takes part in the telethon events. We've also seen her reunited with her old pal in Jam & Jerusalem, which she wrote.
Quote: 'It seems you can take a picture on your mobile and it can be on the front page of a celebrity mag the next day. It's a kind of madness.'
Trivia: Married fellow Comic Strip star Adrian Edmondson in 1985. They have three daughters - Beattie, Ella and Freya. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and is now in remission. Her autobiography, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs, was published in 2013.
Pat Doyle (Series producer)
Brian Klein (Director)
Andy Willman (Executive producer)

Before / After

-

Top Gear
1:20 pm