James May banned from saying rude catchphrase on new Amazon motor show, The Grand Tour, after ‘string of BBC legal threats’
Ex-Top Gear team haved worked on new show without The Stig or the cool wall because of fears of being sued by Beeb
BBC bosses made so many legal threats against Jeremy Clarkson's new show that James May was even banned from using his famous ‘cock’ catchphrase.
The ex-Top Gear team have been working in secret on their new Amazon series The Grand Tour for months without The Stig, the cool wall or the Dunsfold race track in Surrey where the old show was filmed because of fears of being sued by the Beeb.
Show boss Andy Wilman – who worked on Top Gear for 13 years – revealed yesterday: “It got a bit silly at the start point.
“It doesn't take a rockets scientist. There's no Stig, there's no track, there's no dunsfold. What we wanted to protect was the films.”
But he added: “It does get hilarious. You’ve got these meetings where it’s like: ‘Can James May still say cock or is the BBC going to sue?’
“James is then saying, ‘I’ve always said cock!’ It’s win-win, as if we get sued for James saying cock that’ll be brilliant. They got funnier and funnier.”
Wilman said there are even legal worries about Grand Tour footage shot in Namibia because of BBC similarities over an old Top Gear film about Botswana.
“The lawyers go through everything,” he added.
Sun columnist Clarkson, 56, was sacked following what was later described as an "unprovoked physical and verbal attack" with producer Oisin Tymon who was unable to provide him with hot food at a Yorkshire hotel following a day of filming.
So not surprisingly, Amazon wooed his team, which also includes Richard Hammond, 46, with copious quantities of food.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Andy said: "They're good at catering. The first time we went for a meeting it was me, James, Jeremy, Richard and our lawyer.
“Someone must have said there were 50 of us as it was like a northern wedding, there was catering laid out.
“James and I got up and had some chicken drumsticks and all that. I'd not made a dent in the scotch eggs.”
The trio and producer Wilman soon signed a £160 million three-year deal with Amazon to screen their new show exclusively on their streaming budget.