Top Gear


7:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Sunday, January 11 on BBC Two England (2)

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About this Broadcast

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Season 20, Episode 4

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May embark on a project to build a car that can turn into a hovercraft and bring relief to flooded areas. Their efforts do not start smoothly, but it is not long before the trio are demonstrating the brilliance of their creation with an eventful journey down the River Avon. Plus, Jeremy grabs the keys to two variants of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG supercar - the V8-engined Black Series with a roaring 622bhp, and the 740bhp Electric Drive, which is powered by four electric motors. X-Men and Les Miserables star Hugh Jackman is the latest celebrity to take the new Reasonably Priced Car around the test track


HD subtitles repeat 16x9 audio-description
Leisure Hobbies Motoring

Cast & Crew

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James May (Presenter)
Richard Hammond (Presenter)
Jeremy Clarkson (Presenter)
Andy Wilman (Executive producer)

More Information

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Did You Know..

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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.
Hugh Jackman (Guest)
Born: October 12, 1968 in Sydney, Australia
Best Known For: Being Wolverine in X-Men.
Early-life: Hugh Michael Jackman was born on October 12, 1968, in Sydney, Australia. He's the youngest of five children. His parents are English. They split up when Hugh was eight. His mother returned to England, leaving him and his siblings to be raised by their father in Australia. He has a younger half-sister from his mother's remarriage. After leaving school, he gained a degree in communications from the University of Technology in Sydney. He used an inheritance from his grandmother to pay for further studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
Career: Jackman's first TV appearance was in Australian show Law of the Land. He then appeared in several more series before making his movie debut in 1999's Paperback Hero. He took over the role of Wolverine in 2000's X-Men after Dougray Scott dropped out, and has been a star ever since. He's played the character several more times since, but admits he will soon be too old for the role. Other movies include Van Helsing, Swordfish, The Prestige, The Fountain and Australia. Jackman has also maintained a musical theatre career, gaining acclaim for his roles in Oklahoma at London's National Theatre and on Broadway in The Boy from Oz. More recently he's appeared in sci-fi movie Real Steel, the Oscar-winning Les Miserables and drama Prisoners.
Quote: "I've always felt that if you back down from a fear, the ghost of that fear never goes away. It diminishes people. So I've always said 'yes' to the thing I'm most scared about."
Trivia: He hosted the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.
Andy Wilman (Executive producer)