The Grand Tour

Richard Hammond & James May Give Awkward TV Interview Without Jeremy Clarkson

Tuesday night Richard Hammond and James May appeared on the UK’s One Show, sans Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson, who was delayed in a German airport following an incident with an Argentinian check-in clerk, (for more on this check out our article, here) did not show up for the interview and instead made an appearance on BBC Radio 2 later that evening.

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With their front man missing, Hammond and May’s interview, which was to promote the premiere of their new show on Amazon Prime, The Grand Tour, was anything but suave. The duo’s appearance was their first on the BBC since their exit from the network following Clarkson’s firing, which led to all three hosts and their producer quitting the show.

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Several times the two were questioned about Top Gear, but they both purposely deflected the queries, making for a very uncomfortable interview between them and hosts Alex Jones and Angellica Bell. During the interview, all four appeared very awkward, almost distressed to be in one another’s company with frequent jabs back and forth. At one point, Hammond commented on the odd use of a cardboard car which was given to them as they entered as being a “budget thing”. At another moment during the interview, May, somewhat reluctantly commenting on his departure from the BBC, said that he had made the right decision, intentionally neglecting to name the old show by name.

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Previously, host Angellica Bell had said that Hammond and May were ” two middle-aged men with money burning a hole in their pockets”, a dig at the supposedly massive budget that Amazon has given The Grand Tour. This time, Bell continued her commentary saying that “You’re here because of your new show, and it’s all top secret because your employers want to sell your subscriptions,” another jab at Amazon, while co-host Alex Jones said in reference to Top Gear and The Grand Tour’s inevitable rivalry, “We should rubbish it because we know the BBC have a rival car show but it’s really difficult because it’s good, very good- which is annoying.”

The two hosts went further over the line during the interview referring to Clarkson as “he who shall not be named”, and asking how much the two were paid by Amazon for their new show. The poor treatment by the hosts did not go unnoticed, and viewers went to Twitter to support their favorite motoring hosts.

One viewer specifically called them out, tweeting “The interview with @MrJamesMay & @RichardHammond was shockingly bad- jealous and snide comments not needed #TheOneShow”.

Another viewer wrote “Very awkward interview on #TheOneShow there. Sounded like they were forced to have Hammond and May on, but hate them with a passion.”

Clarkson himself later took to Twitter:

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It’s clear that there is still animosity between the former Top Gear hosts and members of the BBC, despite the time since their departure last year, and it seems the premiere of their new show on Amazon is doing little to settle those feelings. I would venture to guess that the trio is far from worried about those at the BBC and their feelings, with the launch of The Grand Tour this Friday being so highly anticipated. While all three of the boys have said they would work with the BBC again, they may be changing their minds in the near future. Based on current events, that would be a huge loss for the BBC, not so much for them.

Check out the video below, and let us know what you think of the interview. Was it all in good fun, or did the hosts cross the line?

Source: The Daily Mail 

 

 

 

Nick Dunlap

Nick is a lifelong automotive enthusiast, as well as journalist, and content creator. Nick also successful competes in a variety of automotive fields including national level car shows, autocross, SCCA races, and more. He enjoys designing and building a variety of cars and helping others do the same with theirs.

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One Comment

  1. The interview helps me understand why the lads (boys in English) would choose not to be affiliated with BBC. It would have been more pleasurable if the interview had been conducted by our show, “The View.” Furthermore, what the hell is the cardboard car prop about? That thing made your program look like a Walmart special.

    I will apologize for you to the boys! Guys, WELCOME BACK! I got my Amazon account the moment I heard about you making GTN.

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