When the BBC sacked Top Gear‘s Jeremy Clarkson after his unfortunate tussle with a producer, it wasn’t a particularly big surprise that co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond followed him out the door.
The network, apparently fearing for the long-term future of their most lucrative show, recently offered the pair a combined package of £4.6 million to come back to Top Gear for two or three more years.
Per reports in the UK Mirror, however, a source close to the pair (words that make us go all tingly inside) has said that they are more than likely to turn this down, and instead team up with Clarkson on something new.
“Flattering though it is to be offered huge sums there’ll be no going back. It wouldn’t feel right and their [hearts] wouldn’t be in it. They’ve always said they come as a team and that hasn’t changed, the source said.
“They are all very excited at the prospect of having total editorial control over their new show, to make it and get it distributed. It would be ground-breaking and also incredible lucrative. They would stand to earn much, much more than they would with the BBC.”
Though nothing is set in stone, is it widely believed that the “new show” in question will be produced by US streaming giant Netflix, and that negotiations were recently finalised.
Netflix recently confirmed that a fifth season of Arrested Development will be arriving in 2016.
Photo: Peter McDiarmid via Getty Images
