Eek The perfect antidote to a boring Sunday evening
The boys are back behind the wheel for a new series
Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris, and Paddy McGuinness are back with more cars and comedy as the much-loved motoring magazine starts its 31st season. While the last series was hampered by strict Covid restrictions, the new run is a return to some sort of normal.
If you count spewing milk all over a Mercedes EQC as normal, that is.
Some of the vehicles set to appear in the new season include the McLaren 765 LT, Aston Martin’s one-off Victor, a Lamborghini Huracan STO, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, a DeLorean DMC-12 and a Lada Niva.
Meanwhile, the features will include an international trip to Iceland – the show’s first foreign shoot since prior to the pandemic.
Plus, they head to Cornwall in some (utterly unsuitable) bargains for new drivers, there’s an off-road caravan trip using electric crossovers (which may sound a little similar to the Grand Tour’s Lochdown special), some flying cars and even a spot of zorbing.
However, they kick off the new series with the ‘ultimate track day’ at the Silverstone Circuit, testing three high-performance cars with three F1 Drivers.
Freddie and Sebastian Vettel get behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition, Chris and Lando Norris drive the McLaren 765LT, and Paddy takes the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm for a spin, alongside Antonio Giovazzini.
“It was stunning and for us, what a coup to have been involved in an F1 weekend – it’s not easy to be a part of that, they don’t let that happen,” recalls Chris Harris. “We shot it on the Thursday. We had one hour to film it, which we’ve never done because TV is a big old beast.”
Meanwhile, Eddie Kidd OBE was one of the greatest bikers of them all – an impossibly talented and handsome stunt rider who performed death-defying feats.
However, a crash in 1996 ended Eddie’s riding career, leaving him with life-changing injuries.
Top Gear pays tribute to this British legend in the only way Top Gear knows how: with Paddy wearing leathers, leaping through a ring of fire.
“When you’re talking to him, you totally still see that glint in his eye,” says Paddy McGuinness with a smile. “I think it’s nice that we can do stuff like that on Top Gear. It takes you [away from] us being outlandish and doing silly stunts or what have you. I think I just didn’t want to kind of… p*** him off or say anything wrong to him. In the film he trolls me quite a lot. He’s really sharp – and I didn’t care what he said to me or if he took the mickey out of me.”
BBC One, Sunday, 8pm