Watch James May And Richard Hammond Revisit The Top Gear Office

In the glory days of Top Gear – a show that at its peak, was pulling in around 350 million viewers every week – there was a running joke that the whole show was produced in a stinky, run-down Portakabin.

Of course, a quick look at some of the behind-the-scenes content produced at the time reveals that this really wasn’t an exaggeration. The show’s on-site production office that would be used for studio and track-based shoot days really was a dilapidated pre-fab building that sat adjacent to the massive aircraft hangar at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey that housed the show’s studio.

Now, almost 10 years to the day after the infamous ‘fracas’ that brought the show as we knew it to an end, Richard Hammond and James May have made a nostalgic visit to the grubby building to reminisce about their time working there.

The video, on May’s Planet Gin YouTube channel, which tends to be used as a promotional tool for his brand of gin, sees the duo return to the site and find a way into the now-empty building.

Once inside, they take a reflective stroll around, visiting various rooms that were once upon a time used to produce one of the biggest television shows on the planet. They pay visits to what were once the writing room, the make-up studio, and even the private room that the show’s various Stigs could use to change in and out of their overalls without their identity being given away.

While it looks like the building saw some use after Clarkson, Hammond and May’s era of Top Gear ended, it’s now little more than an empty shell with a crumbling exterior. Somewhat ironically given the state the building’s in and the show’s general reputation for larking about, pretty much the only thing left inside is a health and safety information poster pinned to a noticeboard.

It’s a nostalgic and strangely emotional 15-odd minutes for anyone who, like us, watched Top Gear almost religiously when the show was at its peak, and a reminder of what we’re all missing out on now Clarkson, Hammond and May have brought their TV presenting partnership to an end.