Top Gear (series 22)
| Top Gear (series 22) | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Original release | 27 December 2014 – 28 June 2015 |
| Series chronology | |
The twenty-second series of Top Gear aired during 2015 on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and consisted of 8 episodes, beginning on 25 January before abruptly ending on 8 March, and not fully concluding until 28 June. The series was preceded by a two-part special entitled "Patagonia Special" which aired during 2014, the first part on 27 December, and the second part a day later on 28 December. The series is most notable for two controversial incidents that occurred during filming, and was the last series to feature the regular hosting line-up of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, while it was also Andy Wilman's last as the show's executive producer. The second controversial incident received extensive media attention, the greatest amount created for controversy caused by Top Gear in the show's history, which subsequently led to Clarkson being suspended by the BBC while they investigated the matter. On 25 March 2015, the broadcaster officially dismissed Jeremy Clarkson from the show, and in the aftermath of their decision, Hammond, May and Wilman announced their resignations from the show on April 2015; all three hosts made their final appearances on the last episode broadcast on 28 June with assistance from Wilman, with only Hammond and May hosting the studio segments.
To mark the end of the trio's era of presenting Top Gear, the BBC produced a two-part compilation special which aired near the end of December 2015 and was narrated by comedian John Bishop. The special consisted of moments from the 22 series that they presented the show, with the first part broadcast on 26 December, and the second part broadcast four days later on 30 December.
News that production of the series was being planned was hinted by Clarkson on Twitter on 29 April 2014, before he later confirmed on 7 July that year that he was going to Morocco to start filming for the show, with a media outlet in Australia further revealing on 24 October and 29 October that the trio were filming within the country's Northern Territory.
While Wilman had stated in the January 2015 issue of Top Gear Magazine (issue #265) that Series 22 was to contain 10 episodes in its broadcast, only seven were actually aired; the series abruptly ended after the seventh episode in the wake of Clarkson's suspension, with the BBC opting to pull the last three episodes from its schedule until its investigations on the presenter's assault was completed. Following their decision not to renew Clarkson's contract, the Director General Tony Hall announced that the broadcaster intended to show the three pulled episodes after it had debated on how to do so, although all that was left for use was two filmed vehicle challenges. Furthermore, Hammond and May, along with Wilman, had announced their decisions not to return to the show, leading to a re-think on the matter. After debating how to end the series, the BBC came decided to air the two completed films as part of an extended special episode, with Hammond, May and Wilman asked to postpone their departures from the show to help with producing and hosting it; the official website of Top Gear hinted on 8 June 2015 at this having happened by announcing that the filmed segments were to be shown later that year, it was not until a week later, on 15 June, that the BBC officially confirmed that the segments had been allocated to a 75-minute special that was under production. Production of the episode led to studio segments being filmed, though no audience was invited to be at the show's studio at Dunsfold on the day of filming. The final episode of the series was eventually scheduled and aired on 28 June.
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