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Season 4, Episode 7
Richard Hammond and James May try mini-cabbing and take the Renault Scenic and the Ford C-Max out for a spin. Jeremy Clarkson gets behind the wheel of the Spyker C8 Spyder, and Lionel Richie puts his motoring skills to the test as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car
subtitles
16x9
audio-description
Leisure Hobbies
Motoring
Cast & Crew
Jeremy Clarkson
(Presenter)
James May
(Presenter)
Richard Hammond
(Presenter)
Lionel Richie
(Guest)
Brian Klein
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
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.
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.
Lionel Richie
(Guest)
Born:
June 20, 1949
in
Tuskegee, Alabama
Early-life:
Born Lionel Brockman Richie Jr in Tuskegee, Alabama, on June 20, 1949. He spent his early years, before moving to Illinois, on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute, where most of his family had worked for two generations. He also studied economics there on a tennis scholarship, and considered becoming an Episcopalian priest. Instead, Lionel realised music was his vocation and formed The Commodores with fellow students Milan Williams, Ronald LaPread, William King Jr, Thomas McClary and Walter Orange. They found their name by randomly dropping a finger onto a dictionary page.
Best Known For:
His numerous charts successes.
Career:
The Commodores gained their first record contract in 1968, went on to support the Jackson Five, and became the most popular soul group of the 1970s thanks to hits such as Easy and Three Times a Lady. Lionel began writing songs for other artists, and eventually went solo in 1982. A year later he released the album Can't Slow Down, which spawned the hits All Night Long and Hello. His other hit singles include Dancing on the Ceiling, Say You Say Me and My Destiny. Lionel continues to record, but has slowed down his output. In 2012, he released the album Tuskegee, which featured 13 versions of his hits sung as duets with Country stars.
Quote:
"The music business was not safe, but it was fun. It was like falling in love with a woman you know is bad for you, but you love every minute with her anyway."
Trivia:
Richie has helped to raise more than $3million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. He was inspired to help the charity by his grandmother, who was diagnosed with the disease in her 80s, but lived to be 103.
Brian Klein
(Director)
