The Grand Tour’s ‘new line-up revealed’ after Jeremy Clarkson quits Amazon series
A world away from Clarkson, Hammond and May!
The Grand Tour has reportedly found its new Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Bosses behind the Amazon Prime Video series have been looking for replacements for the iconic trio after their departures, and they’ve turned to social media.
Viral trainspotter Francis Bourgeois is said to have signed up alongside petrol-head YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman.
‘Thomas and James are as knowledgeable about motors as Jeremy, Richard and James — the only difference is they’re younger, cooler and a lot more social media savvy,’ an insider told The Sun.
‘Francis became famous for his love of trainspotting and will be bringing his humour to the show.’
British star Thomas launched his Throttle House YouTube channel a decade ago, with Canadian fan James joining him three years later.
Trainspotter Francis Bourgeois is set to swap rails for the road (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock) James Engelsman is being lined up to join him (Picture: Instagram) James’ co-star Thomas Holland will reportedly complete the trio (Picture: Instagram)Their brand has grown to boast 3.2million subscribers, with their videos regularly racking in over 2.5m views.
They regularly share reviews and road tests with their followers, and they could be a great fit for the Grand Tour.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Francis – real name Luke Magnus Nicolson – went viral during the pandemic with his infectiously enthusiastic trainspotting videos.
He has gone onto interview everyone from AJ Trace and Tom Daley to Louis Theroux, and he has 2.4m followers on Instagram, with a further 3.3m on TikTok.
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have stepped down from the Amazon Prime show (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images) The former stars want their successors to be ‘unknown’ (Picture: Courtesy of Prime Video)The trio have some big shoes to fill after Clarkson, Hammond and May first hosted BBC’s Top Gear from 2003 to 2003, followed by Grand Tour from 2016 to 2024.
The final special aired on Amazon Prime last year, although there are still plans to release four retrospective episodes looking back at the best moments of the series.
Hammond previously admitted he was excited to see who will take over from him and his pals to keep Grand Tour moving.
‘We’re stepping away as the hosts, but Prime will be continuing it. So I can’t wait to sit on my own chair and watch somebody else do it. That’s amazing,’ he told Metro.
The former hosts first worked together on Top Gear in 2003 (Picture: BBC) They called time on their presenting team last year (Picture: Courtesy of Prime Video)Giving his verdict on who Amazon should hire to take over, he added: ‘If you’re making any show that at its heart has a subject, whether it’s cooking, dancing or cars, the hosts, the primary makers of it, have to have that passion in their heart. And we always did.
‘You never had to be a car geek to watch our show. Plenty of people who weren’t did watch it, but it was important that we were the car geeks.’
And Clarkson insisted the broadcaster should avoid ‘well known people who like cars’ in favour of ‘three complete unknowns’.
‘Start small, like we did. They’ve got to be absolute petrolhead,’ he told The Sun. ‘You’ve got to have someone who does nothing but think about the show. I was completely engrossed in that show for 20 years.’
Metro has contacted Amazon Prime Video for comment.
The Grand Tour is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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