Former Top Gear presenter James May has suggested the beloved show needs a "rethink" after BBC announced it would be off air for the "foreseeable future". May, who used to host the motoring show with Jeremy Clarkson and Solihull's Richard Hammond, previously described the decision as "sad", saying: “I can see why it’s a tricky one for the makers, but I can’t believe it’s gone forever.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added it would be a "shame" if the BBC didn't refresh the format of the popular series. The 60-year-old presenter said that now is the perfect time for a new approach to the show, reports PA.

He said: "It does need a bit of a rethink. It's time for a new format and a new approach to the subject because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car was invented."

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He also mentioned that he, along with Clarkson and Hammond, already fill a gap for this type of show on Prime Video with The Grand Tour. This show was created by the trio after they left Top Gear in 2015 and follows a "similar format to the way we left it", according to May.

When asked about what a new format could involve, May suggested a "greater scrutiny" of cars, including how they are powered. He added that he believes this could still be done in an "entertaining and informative kind of way."

Top Gear's filming was paused when host Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff, 45, had to go to hospital in December 2022. The former England cricket captain got badly hurt in an accident at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.