The Grand Tour’s James May reveals brutal reason hit Prime Video series ended
JAMES May has finally shared the sad reason why The Grand Tour came to an end.
James, along with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, first found success on the BBC’s Top Gear before making the move to The Grand Tour in 2016.
The show kept viewers entertained by mixing car reviews in with road trips to far-flung places, and eccentric challenges.
However, after six successful seasons, the motoring series wrapped up last year with its final special: One For The Road.
During a recent appearance on Sunday Brunch, James was quizzed about why he and his co-stars decided to call time on the show when it was so loved.
He initially brushed off the question with a bit of humour, joking: "I just couldn't stand them!"
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However, James eventually gave a more thoughtful response.
He told show hosts: "We always said, between us, that we would end it with some race, hopefully, rather than fly into the White Cliffs of Dover, desperately trying to keep it along - and I think we just about managed that.
"We’d exhausted the subject, we are getting on a bit. I believe it’s time for a new generation to find a new take - I don’t know what it is."
When Simon Rimmer asked whether the decision felt right, James responded: "Yes, I think so. You can’t overstay your welcome. You’re supposed to leave the audience wanting more. It’s the rule of show business."
Tim Lovejoy joked about the trio possibly returning for a Grand Tour 25th-anniversary special if the price was right.
While James did not rule this out, he appeared unconvinced.
The conversation then became nostalgic as James reflected on how entertainment trends have changed over the past few decades.
He mused: "We’re in an era where we look back on things that were very popular in my youth. I’m thinking of TV shows from the 1970s and you watch them, and you go, ‘oh really?’ Things like It Ain’t Half Hot Mum and Are You Being Served? Is that ever going to happen to Top Gear?"
Tim cheekily replied, "Already has," to fits of laughter from the hosts and crew.
The Grand Tour episode guide
How many seasons of The Grand Tour are there and where do they take place?
The Grand Tour launched on Prime Video in 2016 and quickly became one of the streamer’s biggest hits as hosts Jeremy, 63, James, 60, and Richard, 52, felt it was time they move on from Top Gear hit the road.
They have now brought five epic series of motoring adventures to the small screen, each taking place in different locations and even featuring celebrity guests.
Series 1
- Series 1 aired from 2016 to 2017 and took the presenters to a number of foreign locales, including Jordan, Morocco and Italy.
- The series is comprised of 13 episodes, with episodes 7 and 8 making up a two-part special set in Namibia, where the trio embarked on an epic beach buggy challenge.
Series 2
- Jeremy, Richard and James returned for more motoring actor in series 2, and drove their way across Europe as they tested out some of their dream vehicles like the Bugatti Chiron and the McLaren 720S.
- This series, which aired from 2017 to 2018, is made up of 11 episodes. It features regular 'studio segments' filmed in the team's permanent tent in the Cotswolds, and had regular participation from celebrities with two guests going head-to-head on timed laps every episode.
Series 3
- In 2019, the presenting trio crossed continents - from North America, to South America, to Europe and Asia - putting both new vehicles and classic sports cars through their paces.
- This series was the last to feature the regular studio segments, car reviews and timed laps.
- To mark the end of this era the final episode's last segment includes a montage of scenes featuring the presenters over the course of their career as a trio, not only from this programme, but also from their time hosting Top Gear.
Series 4
- This series marked a complete change in format for The Grand Tour as it consists entirely for feature-length specials which aired between 2019 and 2021.
- The first two chronicle Jeremy, Richard and James' epic adventures across Asia and Africa, while the third and fourth episodes saw them put foreign cars to the test on their home turf. And fitting American vehicles through Scottish roads is no easy feat.
Series 5
- Following the same format as series 4, the fifth and final series of The Grand Tour also consists of four feature-length specials.
- The first of these hits screens in 2022 and follows the trio as they travelled through Norway, Sweden and Finland in three Rally-Inspired Sports Saloons.
- The second episode was another Euro adventure while the third took the presenters back to Africa.
- The fourth instalment of the series and final ever episode of The Grand Tour, titled One for the Road, premieres on September 13, 2024. It promises to be an emotional one as the trio set out on one epic final adventure in Zimbabwe and reflect on their 22-year-long working relationship and friendship.