New Grand Tour Hosts Debut

What's happened

The Grand Tour has a new trio of hosts: Francis Bourgeois, Thomas Holland and James Engelsman have stepped into Clarkson, Hammond and May’s roles. The team has worked to win over fans, with Clarkson making a cameo and the newcomers stressing the show’s car-enthusiast core as they premiere on Prime Video.

What's behind the headline?

Analysis

• The new lineup is built on existing chemistry between Engelsman and Holland, with Bourgeois adding a niche expertise that broadens the show’s appeal.
• The reception hinges on whether audiences accept the new trio while preserving the show’s core appeal to car enthusiasts.
• Expect ongoing dialogue about balance between nostalgia and reinvention as reviews settle.

Forecast: the show will likely stabilize once early episodes demonstrate consistent chemistry and strong car content.

How we got here

The Grand Tour’s original trio—Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May—left the show and were replaced by a trio of YouTubers and social media figures. Bourgeois is known for train-spotting videos; Engelsman and Holland run the Throttle House channel. The new hosts had to address fan concerns about continuing the show’s legacy while bringing fresh dynamics to the format.

Our analysis

Independent: quotes from Bourgeois, Holland and Engelsman; BBC Business: initial mixed reviews; Independent: further casting remarks; The Independent: Clarkson cameo and roll-out details.

Go deeper

• Will Bourgeois’s train-spotting fame translate into car-focused credibility?
• How will Clarkson’s cameo influence viewer perception of the new format?
• What are fans saying on social media about the new trio?

More on these topics

• James May - Television presenter

  James Daniel May is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015.

• Richard Hammond - English motoring journalist and broadcaster

  Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English television presenter, writer, and journalist. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two car programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May. In 2016, Hammond began..

• Jeremy Clarkson - British broadcaster, journalist and writer

  Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who is best known for hosting the motoring television programmes Top Gear (2002–2015, 2021) and The Grand Tour (2016–2024) alongside Richard Hammond and James May. He also writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. Clarkson currently hosts the ITV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2018–present) and its spin-off Millionaire Hot Seat (2026–present), and stars in the farming documentary series Clarkson's Farm (2021–present). From a career as a local journalist in northern England, Clarkson rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear from 1988 to 2000. Since the mid-1990s, he has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows for the BBC and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes on subjects such as history and engineering; he has also written numerous books, primarily on cars. In 1998, he hosted the first series of Robot Wars. From 1998 to 2000, he also hosted his own talk show on BBC Two, entitled Clarkson...

• Francis Bourgeois - Painter

  Sir Peter Francis Lewis Bourgeois RA was an English landscape painter and history painter, and court painter to King George III of the United Kingdom.

• Canada - Country in North America

  Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest c

• The Grand Tour - Television series

  The Grand Tour is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November 2016.

• The Independent - Newspaper

  The Independent is a British online newspaper that was established in 1986 as a national morning printed newspaper published in London. Nicknamed the Indy, it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis

• Rolls-Royce - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  Rolls-Royce may refer to: Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aircraft engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Rolls-Royce Motors, owner of the former car division incorporated in 1973 and folded in 1998 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in 1998, a subsidiary of BMW Group Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, an aerospace, power systems and defence company and Rolls-Royce's current principal operating company Rolls-Royce Controls and Data Services Rolls-Royce Deutschland Rolls-Royce Power Systems Rolls-Royce North America Rolls-Royce Submarines Rolls-Royce Turbomeca

• The North Face, Inc. - American company featuring outdoor apparel and sportswear

  The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, a distinct rock formatio

• Joe Jonas - American singer-songwriter

  Joseph Adam Jonas is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin and Nick.

• Gucci - Fashion company

  Gucci is an luxury brand of fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories, makeup, fragrances, and home decoration. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Tuscany, in 1921.

• YouTube - Video sharing company

  YouTube is an American online video-sharing platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. Three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—created the service in February 2005.

• United Kingdom - Country in Europe

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland.

• Instagram - Social networking service

  Instagram is an American photo and video sharing social networking service owned by Facebook, created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and originally launched on iOS in October 2010.

• TikTok

  TikTok/Douyin is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based Internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming.

• Jesse Lingard - English footballer

  Jesse Ellis Lingard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a winger for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.