Danger man:
The re-energised Top Gear gets off the grid with one of its most dangerous stunts ever. Jim Maloney reports.
Top Gear’s
Freddie Flintoff goes bungy jumping in a car.
Freddie Flintoff has done a few bungy jumps before – but never in a car.
In one of the most dangerous stunts ever filmed for Top Gear, now streaming on TVNZ OnDemand, the former England cricketer turned presenter is suspended 120 metres above a valley floor in Switzerland, inside a Rover Metro cabriolet.
“Bizarrely, I was quite relaxed until I saw the worried look on the crane driver’s face,” Flintoff says.
“Then I thought, ‘What am I doing up here?’ and I started to imagine the crane toppling over and crashing to the floor.”
The breath-taking incident promoted fellow presenter Paddy
McGuinness to say, “It’s typical Freddie looking for something to increase his pulse-rate all the time, but myself and Chris (presenter Chris Harris) are not so stupid as to be doing that.”
And no Top Gear series would be complete without an overseas jaunt.
Thoughts of creating the classic American road trip along Route 66 are turned upside down when it’s pointed out that the first roads in the Americas were built by the Incas. So it’s off to Peru to buy some American cars off the internet and then drive up a mountain.
The new line-up of Flintoff, comedian and actor McGuinness and motoring journalist Harris got off the starting grid last season
after a few set-backs following the departure of the popular Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May and then Matt Le Blanc and Chris Evans came and went. But the good news is that the show is roaring once more.
“The viewing figures are up,” says McGuinness, “and we have had a lot of positive feedback but I still occasionally read someone on Twitter saying, ‘It’s not the same without Clarkson’ and I think, ‘My God, he’s not done it for so long. Can we just move on?’
“But, mostly, people are saying very nice things. The relationship between the three of us doesn’t feel forced and that’s the beauty of it. Even in the days when it wasn’t doing so well and there was a lot of negativity, everyone seemed to have an opinion on it. I think it’s because it’s become an institution and people didn’t want it to fail. It’s popular all over the world.
“The thing that always amazes me is how often we get recognised in the most surprising places. Chris is very much the kind of guy who doesn’t want to be in the limelight. But when we went to Ethiopia, as soon as we got off the plane, he was accosted by people saying, ‘Chris, Chris!’
“In Nepal they all knew Fred because cricket is so popular there. But no one had any idea who I was.”
Flintoff likes the different qualities of each presenter.
“I love Paddy’s enthusiasm,” he says. “He admits to not having been well travelled before this series so when he goes to some of these far-off countries it’s like his eyes have been opened for the first time. And that’s infectious.
“I am learning about cars all the time from Chris. He talks about auto stuff and I don’t even know what he’s on about.”
Flintoff admits he is not only learning about cars but how to present too.
“I never imagined I would be a TV presenter,” he says. “I finished playing cricket at 31 and all I ever wanted to be was a cricketer. Then I stumbled into television and, I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure what I’m doing. I just turn up and do whatever. I think I’m going to get found out every day.”
Harris is relieved that the three presenters gelled so quickly.
“We didn’t have much of a honeymoon period with this show,” he says. “This line-up had to work from the start. We are really proud of the fact that the chemistry worked from day one.
“Like any team we have different strengths. I’m from a more rigorous journalistic background. If I say a car is good or bad, viewers can trust the fact that I have spent all my working life reviewing cars. Fred has a fantastic competitive ability and Paddy makes audiences laugh.
“I always wanted Top Gear to be loved again and that’s what we’ve done.”
“I stumbled into television and, I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure what I’m doing. I just turn up and do whatever. I think I’m going to get found out every day.”
– Freddie Flintoff