Between the relaunched (and somewhat questionable) Top Gear and Clarkson, May and Hammond’s Amazon show The Grand Tour, the British car show landscape is looking a little crowded these days. One show the newcomers may not have to contend with is the scrappy also-ran, Fifth Gear, which according to tweets from host Tiff Needell appears to have been cancelled.
A series of tweets from longtime TV personality and racer Needell indicated the show was suffering from a lack of funding and may not return for 2016:
Fifth Gear was launched on Britain’s Channel 5 in 2002 after the original version of Top Gear was canceled. The latter show was then brought back under a new format with its now-famous new hosts, and Fifth Gear—despite the talents of Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Jonny Smith—never quite matched Top Gear’s insane stunts, massive budget or attention from all of car culture.
Fifth Gear itself was also canceled in 2009, but then it came back in 2010. While there’s no official confirmation that the show is dead quite yet, I hope it has some life left in it somewhere. And if not, I wouldn’t mind seeing Tiff on Top Gear in place of certain other individuals who shall remain nameless here.
What was your favorite episode on Fifth Gear?
Hat tip to Road & Track