BBC Denies Rumors That Top Gear Has Been Axed

Late last week, the British tabloids reported that Top Gear had been axed after a 46-year run at the BBC, but Britain's famous broadcaster has now come out and set the record straight, stating that the beloved show is not done yet.

According to the Independent, the BBC addressed the rumors with a simple sentence. "A decision on the timing of future Top Gear shows will be made in due course with BBC Content," a spokesperson said.

Filming for the 34th season (after Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman) took over in 2002 was halted in December last year after Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff suffered severe injuries after rolling a Morgan Super 3, the wacky three-wheeler arrived in the USA last month. He was apparently not wearing a helmet and sustained serious facial injuries.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Flintoff would not return to Top Gear, leaving the show's future in doubt.

Top Gear has been a thorn in the BBC's side since Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May shot to global fame. Clarkson is widely applauded for making dull car shows fun again and inspiring thousands of content creators across the globe. As you may know, the controversial Clarkson (and May and Hammond) said and did some things the BBC had issues with over the original trio's 22-season run, but they largely avoided serious trouble by just not caring what the PC police had to say. Still, assaulting a producer was a step too far, so the BBC chose to terminate Clarkson's contract.

Since then, Top Gear has been struggling to find its feet. There was a disastrous 23rd season, followed by a host of semi-watchable seasons starring Matt Leblanc, Chris Harris, and Rory Reid.

The show eventually found its footing again in 2019 when Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff joined Chris Harris. The latter was given more freedom, which made it worth a watch. This writer would go as far as saying that seasons 27 to 33 were on par with the Clarkson era.

The BBC has been wanting to get rid of Top Gear for a while now, but by doing so, it will shoot itself in the foot. British viewers loved the Harris, McGuinness, and Flintoff trio so much that the show was promoted to BBC One (the most prestigious channel) after two seasons. That's something not even the more famous trio achieved.

Sadly, the British tabloids are already having a go at Top Gear for all the usual reasons. It promotes speeding and unsafe driving and inspires teenagers to do dumb things. Sadly, crashing cars is a part of making television. Even with all the safety measures in place, things can still go wrong. Apparently, Flintoff's accident happened at 22 mph, which is a lot less than Hammond's famous crash in the Jet Car.

Speaking of Hammond, he's living proof of Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenters being quite robust. So far, he's crashed the jet car, a Rimac, an F-Type R, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and a Ferrari 458. You can watch him discuss his various crashes below.