Grand Tour star reveals heartbreaking reaction to show ending ahead of Clarkson show finale
ONE of the stars of The Grand Tour has revealed a heartbreaking reaction to the end of his time on the show.
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond will soon take to the airwaves together for the last time.
The 22-year partnership of the trio is about to come to an end after they release The Grand Tour: One for the Road.
September 13 will see the last instalment of the former Top Gear stars in their Amazon Prime Show.
Richard, 54, couldn not help but get reflective about his time with his pals and soon to be former colleagues.
The TV personality appeared on This Morning with Ben Shepherd and Cat Deeley as he reflected on his long television career.
Speaking about his days on The BBC‘s Top Gear, he remarked: “It went berserk and we didn’t know it would go out of control.
“It feels really weird I can’t get my head round it. I’ve been doing this for 22 years because of that partnership.
Adding: “I’ll be forever grateful to Jeremy and James.”
Ahead of the finale of the streaming show the group completed together, Richard couldn’t help but get emotional.
He paid a touching tribute to his long-time co-stars as he admitted that working with them ‘changed everything’ in his life.
When asked about the end of The Grand Tour, he admitted: “It’s not sunk in yet. I reckon six months from now I’ll wake up every morning and cry.
“When I [first] got the job, I was 31, I burst out crying when they called.
“I said to my wife, “this is going to change everything,” and it did.”
This comes after the global streamer recently unveiled the first look at the last episode of the trio’s version of The Grand Tour.
Pictures from the show reveal the iconic trio coming together one last time after sharing the screen for nearly two decades.
In their final outing, Jeremy, James and Richard will head to Zimbabwe in cars that they have always dreamed of driving.
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.
They will travel through a variety of different terrains in a Lancia Montecarlo, a Ford Capri 3-litre, and a Triumph Stag.
This is before they finish up on a weirdly familiar place.
In one of the snaps they were spotted laughing together as they gathered round a campfire.
They soaked up the relaxing atmosphere as they enjoyed the surroundings of a picturesque lake as they sipped beers together.
It’s not sunk in yet. I reckon six months from now I’ll wake up every morning and cry.
Richard Hammond on This Morning
Their longtime producer Andy Wilman recently reflected on the trio’s last moments together at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
He admitted that the last edition was “quite weepy” and “quite heart-stringy,” as they bid farewell to the popular franchise.
The exec revealed: “We are getting to the point where enough is enough. On top of that, there is the sense that we want to end things on our own terms.
“It had to come to an end and we wanted to be the ones who called it … They wanted to go ‘unplugged’.
“We wanted to go back to 2005, leave the dynamite at home, we will go with s*** old cars. They give you more TV than modern new cars, they give you more stories, more laughs.
“So they wanted evocative cars that they adore and they wanted to be in Africa. It is the favourite continent we ever filmed in.”
He added: “Their camaraderie is next level. I think that you can see that they know this is the last time they will do this.
The Grand Tour: One for the Road will be available to watch on Amazon Prime on September 13th.