Top Gear will find a new home on BBC One later this year after achieving their highest ratings in four years.
After a few years in the wilderness, presenters Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris have been perceived to have revitalised the show with their mix of banter, car knowledge and some seriously stomach churning stunts.
In fact, with an average audience of 3.8 million viewers, Top Gear was BBC Two’s most popular show of 2019, leading BBC bosses to decide a spot on lead channel BBC One is better suited for the motoring magazine programme when it returns for its 29th series later this year.
Speaking about the move, director of BBC Content Charlotte Moore said: ‘The time is right to move the world’s best motor show to the nation’s most popular channel and bring it to an even broader audience on BBC One.
‘Freddie, Paddy and Chris have revitalised the hit series with their escapades and banter; and we couldn’t have asked for a better response to their series so far and the impact it’s had with young audiences.’
BBC Two Controller Patrick Holland added: ‘Revitalising Top Gear was one of my biggest priorities when I took over BBC Two and seeing Paddy, Fred and Chris make the show their own has been an utter joy.’
Returning with an all-new lineup in 2016 after a Jeremy Clarkson prompted hiatus, many viewers were sceptical whether the show could return to its former glory without Jeremy, James May and Richard Hammond, who now present Amazon’s The Grand Tour together.
Test driving out different presenters (who can forget Matt LeBlanc?), the unusual combo of Paddy, Freddie and Chris has proven to be the most popular with viewers.
So much so that when the show returned for its new series in January, it pulled in an audience of 4.3 million, making for the most-watched Top Gear episode in four years. Not bad, eh?
Top Gear returns Sunday at 8pm on BBC Two.
