BBC Branded Top Gear’s Clarkson, May and Hammond Line-Up “Too White,” Claims Former Producer
BBC Allegedly Raised Diversity Concerns Over Popular Trio
The BBC reportedly deemed the Top Gear presenting line-up of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond “too white,” according to the show’s former executive producer Andy Wilman.
Wilman, who worked closely with the trio during their time on Top Gear and later The Grand Tour, has shared the claim ahead of his new book release on Thursday, November 6.
The three presenters fronted Top Gear from the early 2000s until 2015, when they moved to Amazon Prime Video to launch The Grand Tour. The trio became household names thanks to their chemistry, humor, and daring automotive challenges that drew in millions of viewers worldwide.
“Too White” Line-Up, Says Former BBC Management
In extracts published by The Sun, Wilman recalled that despite the trio’s immense popularity, BBC senior management occasionally raised concerns about their lack of diversity.
He claimed executives once described it as a problem that the show featured “three white, middle-aged men.”
Wilman recounted a particular meeting where a BBC boss brought what they described as “tremendous news” — Top Gear had started attracting young Black and Asian viewers.
According to Wilman, the executive then asked:
“So, how about replacing one of your line-up with a young, black or Asian presenter?”
“Patronising” Move, Says Wilman
Wilman said he was taken aback by the suggestion and questioned the reasoning behind it:
“So hang on — you’ve got young black and Asian viewers who have chosen, seemingly quite happily, to watch three white, middle-class, middle-aged men doing what they do. And in response to that, we should now break that team up, the one they enjoy watching, and give them something they’re most likely not asking for?”
He continued:
“Isn’t that sort of patronising to young black and Asian viewers?”
The Trio’s Legacy
Clarkson, Hammond, and May hosted Top Gear together for over a decade, turning the motoring program into one of the BBC’s most successful international exports, broadcast in more than 200 countries.
Their departure in 2015 followed Clarkson’s dismissal after an off-camera altercation, with Wilman leaving soon after to join the presenters in launching The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime.
Despite ongoing controversy and debates over representation, the trio’s era of Top Gear remains widely regarded as the show’s golden age.
