Top Gear host says working on show was ‘possibly the best job in the world’

Motoring journalist and TV presenter Chris Harris has broken his silence after the BBC announced that Top Gear is to be taken off the air for the foreseeable future.

The move to stop production of the show came following a collision left co-host and former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff seriously injured whilst filming a segment for the show in December 2022.

In a video posted to his Instagram page @collectingcars, Chris said he was grateful for the opportunity to work on Top Gear and thanked all of the staff for making it possible.

He said: “I’m just incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to have the ‘boy’s own’ job. It’s possibly the best job in the world, presenting Top Gear, whatever anyone says.

“I want to say a special thank you to all the people that no one ever hears about, all the camera crews, the tracking drivers, the pro drivers, the production crew, the runners that deal with people in the middle of the night like me. You’re all gorgeous and wonderful, I want to give you a massive hug.”

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Chris Harris began presenting on the programme in 2016 and has co-hosted the show with Andrew Flintoff and Paddy McGuiness since 2019.

Presenting the show for seven series, the trio saw viewing figures increase from 2.35million to a high of 6.42million.

Outside of the programme, Chris produces and co-hosts the Collecting Car Podcast, alongside Edward Lovett and a variety of guests.

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Later in the video, Chris announced that he will be focusing more of his time on creating content for the podcast.

He added: “I’m working at Collecting Cars full time, and you know what? I’m more excited about the future for Collecting Cars than I am worrying about what’s happened at Top Gear.

“That [BMW] M2 video is a statement of intent, go and watch it. We’re going to be making content like that more and more and more. Back to the old-style Chris Harris on Cars stuff that I love doing, with a great, talented team.”

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First launching in April 1977 as a local programme in the Midlands, Top Gear started life as a consumer programme which looked at the latest models for families and problems facing the motorist.

However, when the show was refreshed in 2002, putting Jeremy Clarkson in the driver’s seat, along with Richard Hammond and James May in tow, it became an international success.

With Jeremy losing his contract in 2015 after punching a producer, Top Gear went through a number of new hosts before finding some success with Flintoff, Harris and McGuiness, who the BBC claim all have new projects within the company.

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