Hammond And May To Reject £4m BBC Deal In Favour Of Joining Clarkson At Netflix

A source close to the trio has told The Mirror that no amount of money could make Richard and James create Top Gear without Jeremy, and they're close to signing with Netflix

Darren Cassey

07 Jun 2015

This week it emerged James May and Richard Hammond have been offered £4.6m to film Top Gear with a guest host, however it appears the pair will turn the offer down in favour of joining Netflix with Jeremy Clarkson and executive producer Andy Wilman.

A source told The Mirror:

“Flattering though it is to be offered huge sums there’ll be no going back. It wouldn’t feel right and their heart wouldn’t be in it.
“They’ve always said they come as a team and that hasn’t changed.

The team have spoken to a number of other outlets, including ITV, however Netflix has emerged as the frontrunner. This is because “They are all very excited at the prospect of having total editorial control over their new show, to make it and get it distributed” - at ITV they would have advertisers watching over them, whereas Netflix works purely on subscription fees so they can say what they like, as long as people keep signing up for the service.

From the outside, Netflix seems like the best bet for the trio. As much as Clarkson has voiced his love for the BBC, it is renowned for its meddling. With more creative control, Clarkson and co. can say what they really think… controversies are on the horizon!