[6] His dismissal from Top Gear prompted the departure of Hammond, May and Wilman from the programme,[1][7][8] who joined Clarkson on a new motoring series for Amazon, The Grand Tour.

[12] Production of the thirty-fourth series was halted in March 2023 after Flintoff was injured in an accident during filming; the BBC later announced that Top Gear would not return for the "foreseeable future".

It has become a significant part of British popular culture,[14][15] with episodes also broadcast in many countries in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and more, making it the most widely-broadcast factual television programme in the world.

[16] Its success has led to various forms of merchandising, including live tours, special DVD editions, and books, as well as spawning a variety of international versions in various countries.

After the BBC cancelled the original format of Top Gear in December 2001, Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman met to work out ideas for reviving the programme for television.

Production began in mid-2002, with the broadcaster securing the right to use Dunsfold Aerodrome, an airport and business park in Waverley, Surrey, as the programme's fixed location – while its runways and taxiways were allocated for reviews and other films, one of the site's large aircraft hangars was transformed into Top Gear's new studio.

Having previously been a presenter on Channel 4's motoring programme Driven and the 1999 series of Top Gear, May initially declined to be a part of the new format, until its growing popularity later changed his mind.

It was one of the first episodes of the programme to be shown in high-definition, and the third special to be produced, focusing on a race to the North Magnetic Pole, at its recorded location in 1996, between a "polar modified" Toyota Hilux and a dog sled.

Considerable planning and co-ordination for the filming of the episode was conducted by both Top Gear's production team and Toyota, with both Clarkson and May, driving the Hilux, being the first people to reach the recorded location of the North Magnetic Pole by car.

"The success of the programme soon led to a live-version format being created called Top Gear Live; produced by a former producer of the programme, Rowland French,[26] the touring show aimed to attempt to "bring the TV show format to life... featuring breath-taking stunts, amazing special effects and blockbusting driving sequences featuring some of the world's best precision drivers".

His statement included referring to "this incarnation of Top Gear" being close to its end, and that the production team would be working towards keeping its "dignity still intact", while experimenting with new ideas for the programme.

The first involved an un-aired take from the 19th series emerging on national news media, featuring the presenter attempting to choose between two cars using the traditional rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" but failing to censor the original version's use of the word nigger.

The programme then suffered another incident, when production of its next special in Argentina was dogged by major issues that placed the team at serious risk of harm, as one of the car licence plates had read "H982 FKL" in an alleged reference to the Falklands War of 1982.

The controversial incident it created was covered by international news media, but despite the issues faced, the special was later aired as part of the BBC's Christmas schedule for 2014,[33] though with amendments to its ending and the inclusion of an introduction for it.

The broadcaster's actions were the result of them suspending Clarkson in order to investigate allegations made against him, over verbal and physical abuse he had committed against one of the show's producers, Oisin Tymon.

[41] Subsequently Clarkson, Hammond, May and Wilman signed a deal with Amazon to produce a new motoring programme in the same vein as their former show, which debuted in 2016 under the title of The Grand Tour.

A major segment of the programme, happening at least once in most episodes, it focuses on the presenters conducting a road-test of a car, looking at such factors as ride quality, speed, handling, practicality, and reliability.

The popularity of the programme eventually led to Top Gear being broadcast internationally in 214 different territories by the end of 2014; however the show's publicist has stated that the oft-repeated claim of 350 million viewers per week is "unreliable".

[79] At the end of 2009 Top Gear was voted best programme of the decade in a Channel 4-commissioned survey, The Greatest TV Shows of the Noughties, ahead of The Apprentice and Doctor Who in second and third places respectively.

Incidents and content ranging from (but not limited to) remarks considered by some viewers to be offensive,[82] promoting irresponsible driving,[83] ridiculing environmental issues,[84] Germans,[85][86] Mexicans,[87] and Poles,[88] and alleged homophobia[89] have generated complaints.

In 2011, British actor Steve Coogan, who had appeared on Top Gear three times, wrote a Guardian article criticising the presenters' characterisations of Mexicans as lazy.

He has also commented on his dislike of BBC bosses for choosing the length of the series and for often replacing the programme with snooker (which Clarkson labelled as "drunk men playing billiards"), despite Top Gear having considerably higher viewing figures.

[94] In March 2014, Indian-born actress Somi Guha made a formal complaint to BBC for $1.8 million, for a racist term used after building a bridge over the Kok River in the Burma Special.

[97] In May 2014, there were complaints and calls for Clarkson to be sacked after it was revealed that he recited "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe; catch a nigger by his toe" as a children's rhyme on an unaired take from the show.

[104][105][106] The popularity of the original UK series eventually led to the creation of a number of international versions, each with local production teams and presenters, all made under licence from BBC Studios: On 19 November 2007, it was revealed that a localised Australian series of Top Gear would be produced by the Special Broadcasting Service network in conjunction with Freehand Productions, BBC Worldwide's Australasian partner.

[107] SBS ran a competition to find hosts for the series, and in May 2008 confirmed that the presenters for the Australian programme were to be Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, Steve Pizzati and a local "cousin" of the Stig.

[110] On 20 June 2010, it was announced that actor and comedian Shane Jacobson and Top Gear Australia magazine editor Ewen Page would join a returning Steve Pizzati to present the programme which premiered on 28 September 2010.

[115] The format is similar to its British counterpart, with three hosts: an ex rock guitarist Nikolai Fomenko, an ex-MTV Russia VJ Oscar Kuchera, and a former automotive journalist Mikhail Petrovsky.

The programme was hosted by Tom Ford, William Fichtner and Antron Brown, and ran for one season of eight episodes that was broadcast on BBC America between July and September 2017.

The Swedish adaptation, Top Gear Sverige, aired on Kanal 5 during 2020 and was presented by six times Speedway World Champion Tony Rickardsson, actor, comedian & musician Marko Lehtosalo, and TV personality Adam Alsing.