Inside return of The Grand Tour from biggest challenge facing new host to Clarkson’s endorsement & out-nerding James May
JEREMY CLARKSON has given the new hosts of The Grand Tour his blessing – but won’t be returning the show’s famous giant tent that now sits in the grounds of his Farmer’s Dog pub.
The latest era of the Prime Video series kicks off on September 4 with social media stars Francis Bourgeois, Thomas Holland and James Engelsman replacing Jezza, Richard Hammond and James May.
After taking on board the advice of the Clarkson’s Farm favourite, Prime bosses chose the three relatively unknown petrolheads to front the show, rather than celebrities.
And Jeremy is happy to give his approval — as long as they “don’t f*** it up”.
Executive producer Andy Wilman, the man who created the hit Prime Video show with his old school pal, told The Sun: “Jeremy said he’d ‘only endorse them as long as I like them’.
“So he watches the tapes and he’s like, ‘Yes, I really like them. I’m happy to endorse’.
“There’s no way he’d endorse someone for a show he helped to create if he didn’t like them.
“He wouldn’t.
“He was on the front foot as soon as he saw them.”
Andy added: “Richard and James were the same.”
The feeling is mutual, and Francis, Thomas and James wanted to celebrate their predecessors’ work in the new series.
It’s a move that pleased Andy, who had hit out at the BBC for pretending the old trio “ever existed” when they left Top Gear.
In the first episode, the young hosts film a scene where they meet Jezza in his pub and ask for the Grand Tour tent back, which he now uses as a farm shop.
Jeremy jokingly rejects their request in amusing scenes, and the exchange acts as a passing of the baton from the old guard, who will make cameo appearances throughout the series, to the delight of fans.
Another reason why Clarkson, Hammond and May are so in awe of their replacements is that they know just as much, if not more, about cars than they do.
During the recruitment process, Jeremy said that every candidate should be quizzed on their knowledge of motors.
And according to train enthusiast Francis, that is what happened during his audition.
He told the Radio Times: “We were shown images of parts — a panel, the rear quarter, a wheel — and had to say what car it was.
“I nailed that.
“It showed my car enthusiasm is as deeply wired as my railway enthusiasm.
“We’re not doing this because it’s a good gig, we’re doing it because we love cars.”
His knowledge hugely impressed ex-presenter James.
Francis added: “One of my favourite moments was James telling me I had actually out-nerded him.”
Francis, 26, is arguably the better known of the new trio due to his trainspotting TikTok videos.
But don’t be fooled into thinking his passions start and end there.
As a boy he would carry a notebook and fill it with the names of cars he saw, arming him with the facts and stats that so impressed producers.
And it doesn’t matter what shoes he is wearing behind the wheel — as his screen test proved.
Francis explained: “I wore high heels while reversing a trailer into a bay, trying not to knock eggs off cones. It was about putting us in tricky situations and seeing how we worked together.
“I was trying to show off my best form, but what shone through was that we were having a brilliant time, and that’s what ultimately got us cast.”
Thomas and James have an established on-screen chemistry, having hosted the popular YouTube channel Throttle House for a decade.
But according to James, one of the biggest challenges on The Grand Tour was getting Francis to crack a smile.
The 34-year-old said: “It’s actually really difficult to make Francis laugh, so that became my mission.
“I’ve spent years making Thomas laugh.
“But if I could break Francis, I knew it had to be genuinely funny.”
Canadian Thomas, 39, added: “Francis fitted right in.
“I think viewers might notice that the dynamic is quite wholesome, for want of a better word.
“That’s not to say we don’t give each other a hard time — we absolutely do.
“But we didn’t try to manufacture anything.
“What you see is literally how the three of us are when we are together.”
The upcoming six-part series will include TV’s newest petrolhead mates driving across Colorado in a Japanese micro-car, testing out muscle motors in California and also zooming around Malaysia and Angola.
