Top gear bbc presenters biography
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First episode of Top Gear
Top Gear started in the BBC Midlands area – the historic heart of the British motor industry - on 22 April 1977. The Radio Times introduced the show as the "first of a monthly series for road-users" and the programme aimed to be of interest to pedestrians as much as motorists. Its success was such that within a year it was being transmitted nationwide, although there was no hint of the entertainment juggernaut that it would become.
The first presenters were Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne. In the opening episode Rippon drove up the M1 in her Ford Capri – at a steady and safe 70 miles per hour - talking about the correct use of mirrors on the motorväg. She stopped to interview customers in a Granada service hållplats. There was a story on the technology police use to catch speeding motorists and another on a rally for the most bränsle efficient fordon. Coyne interviewed William Rodgers, the Minister of frakt, who revealed his hopes for the introduc
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Top Gear has been on our screens since 1977. But 43 years on, the iconic British television programme has seen just about as many personalities as it has cars!
To celebrate all the entertainment it has given us over the years and this year's 29th series, we're taking a trip down memory lane to look back at three of the most memorable generations of Top Gear presenters.
The Original Heroes
It only seems right to start at the very beginning. So let’s go all the way back to 1977 when presenters Tom Coyne and Angela Rippon CBE were in the driver’s seats. Both were BBC news journalists and the programme was far from what it is today in terms of format - focusing on information over entertainment.
Want to get a taste of where it all began? Check out the first ever episode to air here.
The Iconic Dream Team
This is, of course, a slightly subjective category. But according to a 2019 RadioTimes competition, the ‘Best Top Gear Presenter of All Time’ award went to the one and on
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Jeremy Clarkson
English television presenter, journalist and author (born 1960)
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes Top Gear (2002–2015) and The Grand Tour (2016–2024) alongside Richard Hammond and James May. He also currently writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. Clarkson hosted the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2018–present), and co-hosts the farming documentary show Clarkson's Farm (2021–present).
From a career as a local journalist in northern England, Clarkson rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s, he has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows for the BBC and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson h