Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May lured to Amazon Prime with £160m budget

Amazon deal: James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond
Amazon
Robin de Peyer8 August 2015

Jeremy Clarkson and his former Top Gear co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond were lured to Amazon by the promise of a huge £160 million budget for their new show.

The stars chose to join Amazon Prime for their exclusive new car show after being offered the eye-watering sum for the 36 episodes they have committed to.

Former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman, who was a school friend of Clarkson’s and is credited with playing a pivotal role in making the franchise the most successful factual TV show in the world, revealed the offer which saw Amazon Prime scoop competitors such as Netflix.

He added: “Everyone we have talked to has told us: ‘They [Amazon] leave you alone to make your show'. That's a big one for us - we don't like interference, we don't need to be policed."

The budget for the show is said to be larger than online hits such as the first two seasons of House of Cards, amounting to around £4.4m per episode.

Wilman added: "It was very parochial the way this whole thing started. It's not our forte doing deals. We're all crap at business.”

An Amazon insider said when the deal was announced: “We have made a significant investment”.

Work on the first season is expected to start in autumn, and the show will likely go head to head with the BBC’s new version of Top Gear, which is to be hosted by Chris Evans.

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