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The BBC's Top Gear released a statement saying that the broadcaster has “decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future,” Deadline reported.
Top Gear has been off the air since host Andrew Flintoff sustained “life-alteringly significant” after a crash. Flintoff was paid £9 million ($11.2 million) as a settlement, which also prompted a health and safety review for the show.
Top Gear's farewell: “Exceptional circumstances”
The BBC decided to place the show on indefinite hiatus, attributing it to “exceptional circumstances.” However, the broadcaster insisted that it is committed to Flintoff and co-hosts Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris, “and we're excited about new projects being developed with each of them.”
The statement continued, “We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do. ll other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.”
Flintoff's accident happened at Surrey's Dunsfold Park Aerodome in 2022. This led to an immediate pause of Top Gear's production.
The BBC apologized to Flintoff in March this year after the safety review had been done. The studio said that they will not published the results of the review which provided them “important learnings.” Several Top Gear producers resigned from the show since the crash.
Top Gear: A brief history
This news is a big blow to the BBC, as Top Gear is one of its most established shows. Top Gear had been on the BBC since 1977. It was revived in 2002 with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe, with an anonymous test driver simply called The Stig.
James May took Dawe's place after the first series. The line-up remained unchanged until the BBC's decided not to renew Clarkson's contract due to an “unprovoked attack” against one of the show's producers. Hammond and May opted not to continue the show with the BBC and instead created a new series called The Grand Tour.
Top Gear continued and has had different shows since the trio's departure. The show seemed to have found its renaissance when Flintoff, Harris and McGuinnes joined in 2019. Fans will most likely be disheartened at the news of the long-running program's removal from the BBC lineup.
