New Grand Tour hosts hope to prove the critics wrong
The new Grand Tour hosts — YouTubers James Engelsman and Thomas Holland plus social media star Francis Bourgeois — have debuted on Prime Video, urging fans and critics to give them a chance. With mixed early reviews and support from Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, they say they hope to prove the doubters wrong.
Key Takeaways
- James Engelsman, Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois replace Clarkson, Hammond and May on Amazon Prime Video.
- Bourgeois says the trio have done their best and hope to prove the critics wrong.
- Early reviews call the reboot safe or anonymous, while praising Bourgeois’s enthusiasm.
- Clarkson, Hammond and May have publicly backed the handover and urged viewers to watch.
- Episodes send the trio to places including Angola, Malaysia and Wales.
Who are the new Grand Tour hosts?
For more than two decades, Top Gear and The Grand Tour were defined by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Stepping in are Engelsman and Holland — the established Throttle House YouTube duo with more than three million subscribers — and Bourgeois, the train enthusiast-turned-internet star better known for railway platforms than supercars.
According to the BBC, producers tested chemistry with several candidates before Bourgeois clicked. Holland recalls: “As soon as Francis showed up, we were like: ‘That guy’.” Their first meeting was on a leather sofa in a hotel outside Basingstoke, mostly talking about cars they owned.
Bourgeois, whose Instagram following tops two million, says his love of cars goes back as far as trains. He grew up near Willesden Junction in London and remembers a Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4 outside his parents’ flat. The Independent notes he once worked six months as a mechanical engineer at Rolls-Royce — a “huge green flag” for his co-hosts.
What have critics and the old trio said?
Initial reviews have been mixed. The Independent’s three-star take called the reboot “all rather safe” and the presenters “stilted.” The Guardian described a “decent, if slightly anonymous, presence” that seemed “quite meek and pleasant, and without any obvious dynamic,” while calling Bourgeois “the most enthusiastic enthusiast currently working on planet Earth.”
Bourgeois told the BBC: “We’ve done our absolute best and the critics will be critics and I hope that we will prove them wrong.” Engelsman said the hosts shared fans’ early doubts — “Who would do that? What an idiot” — before deciding the format could work. Holland asked viewers to watch first: “If you don’t like it, you’re well within your rights.”
Hammond told the BBC he tuned in and wants audiences to “give them the chance.” Engelsman said the former presenters were “very paternal and caring,” with Clarkson telling them: “We’ll look after you.” Clarkson also appears in episode one, telling viewers he thinks they will “love it,” per The Independent. For more viral and unexplained stories, see our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub.
Can the reboot win over Grand Tour fans?
The Prime Video series sends the trio to Angola, Malaysia and Wales. The Guardian’s first-episode review noted a classic set piece in California — a Mustang, a Corvette and a Hennessey, races against each other, Jenson Button and jet planes — and a cameo visit to Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm.
Finding three-way chemistry mattered as much as car knowledge. Holland said once filming began, the dynamic “just worked and clicked immediately.” Whether that is enough to carry a show long defined by big personalities remains the open question reviewers keep asking — and the one the new hosts say only audiences can answer.