Top Gear to return, comedian Jimmy Carr rumoured – report

The BBC has confirmed Top Gear will return to the airwaves, around half a century after the television program began.

“There has been a lot of speculation about this, and we can confirm that Top Gear is coming back,” said the broadcaster’s director of entertainment, Ed Havard, according to BBC News.

UK newspaper The Sun last week reported that popular comedian Jimmy Carr was in negotiations to join as host.

"I'm not going to talk about talent today,” Mr Havard said.

However, after being asked specifically about Jimmy Carr, Mr Havard said: “Jimmy would be a great host; but I won’t be discussing that today.”

"We will have more information on Top Gear shortly.”

The popular stand-up comedian is arguably best known for hosting 8 Out of 10 Cats, but has been a regular face on UK panel shows like QI and Would I Lie to You?

Known for his love of automobiles, in a 2014 interview with Top Gear Magazine, Mr Carr told the story of driving at 290km/h in a Formula 1 car.

Having previously owned a Rover 75, Bentley Continental, and a Range Rover, in 2025 Mr Carr took delivery of a classic Aston Martin DB6 which had its six-cylinder engine swapped for an electric powertrain.

Joe Marler, a former professional rugby player and star of Celebrity Traitors, has also been named as a possible host.

With Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May at the helm, Top Gear became the biggest factual television show in the world, with an estimated global audience of 350 million.

After the BBC declined to renew Mr Clarkson's contract following reports he'd punched a producer in March 2015, he and his co-hosts signed with Amazon to create The Grand Tour.

Top Gear continued with a revolving door of hosts, eventually settling on Andrew Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness, and Chris Harris.

Mr Flintoff was injured in a vehicle rollover during filming in 2022, causing the BBC to immediately shutter production and put the show on hiatus.

It’s understood the BBC has since apologised and paid compensation to Mr Flintoff for the accident, which caused facial injuries to the former international cricketer.

Meanwhile, The Grand Tour is also set to return on Amazon Prime Video in September 2026, this time with Canadian YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman as hosts, joined by train-spotting sensation Francis Bourgeois.

MORE: Clarkson, Hammond, and May sign off from Amazon Prime