TOP Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson has been told by BBC bosses to ditch £200,000 supercars and review budget models instead.
He and his co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May have been ordered to downsize because of BBC spending cuts.
Producers also want the show to reflect the changing interests of viewers hit by the credit crunch and show “more sedate cheaper, greener” models.
Plans to feature the likes of a Lamborghini, Ferrari and a Porsche have been axed.
Clarkson had vowed to ignore the BBC’s budget squeeze but executive producer Andy Wilman, said that the show could not ignore the recession. He said: “This series we were going to film a road trip with a Lambo and a Porsche. Now it will be cars like the Toyota iQ because they’re smart and clever and you can sense the mood. We’re not that thick.”
He said BBC2 were thinking of screening a version called Boring Top Gear, featuring “down-to-earth” consumer advice rather than blowing up caravans or playing darts with scrap cars.
Earlier this year Clarkson said he would ignore the 30% cuts. He said: “We’ll keep going till the cash runs out.”
The presenters’ salaries have not yet been hit. Clarkson is believed to get £2million a year, while Richard Hammond and James May get £25,000 a show.
Adapted from Daily Star
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May 23rd, 2009 at 5:18 am
Can you imagine Top Gear Showing nothing but the latest boring cars from the motor industry. Does not the BBC realise that it is the supercars and the exotics that makes the show what it is.
I would like to see more emphasis on affordable classics rather than to see classic cars being abused around a race track.
Keep it up Jeremy, you know what the viewers want.