Rory Reid joined Top Gear in 2016 and left the main show in 2019
Ex Top Gear host Rory Reid has said that he feared the show ‘wouldn’t end well’ after Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness were announced as replacements.
The TV presenter, 44, was a part of the new Top Gear lineup in 2016 alongside Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc.
They replaced the longstanding trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May.
Reid was taken very well by viewers who appeared to rate his knowledge of cars.
However, the journalist from South London moved to spin-off show Extra Gear to make way for McGuinness and Flintoff in 2019.
Speaking to Times Radio, Reid was asked if putting sports and TV stars in the driving seat ‘could be a problem’?
This comes after the cricketer’s accident on Top Gear in December 2022, which left him with facial injuries, broken ribs, and ongoing psychological effects.
And there’s also McGuinness, who was driving in an old Lamborghini when he ‘hit a wall at 80mph’ in 2020. He suffered from major anxiety after the incident.
Chris Harris, Matt LeBlanc and Rory Reid became Top Gear presenters in 2016 (John Rogers/BBC via Getty Images)
Answering the initial question, Reid replied: “Absolutely instantly, it was the first thing I thought other than this is an exciting development for the show and I’m interested to see how this turns out.
“The first thing I thought was these men, who I’ve been lucky enough to watch on their entertainment journeys and sports journeys, who are fabulous at what they do, I don’t think they have the driving experience to the level where they would be able to do some of the things the BBC asked me to do.
“Let’s put it that way, whether the BBC gave them the added tuition and time, and looked after them enough to be able to put them into those situations, where they would feel comfortable and safe, that’s not for me to say because I wasn’t there.
“But based on my experience, if you asked me whether putting someone without that level of driving experience in those situations and whether it would end well?
“I didn’t think it was going to end well.
“That was my first ever thought having heard about who would be on the show.”
Flintoff with visual face scars after the incident on Top Gear (Philip Brown/Getty Images)
On health and safety, a BBC spokesperson said: “The independent health and safety production review of Top Gear, which looked at previous seasons, found that while BBC Studios had complied with the required BBC policies and industry best practice in making the show, there were important learnings which would need to be rigorously applied to future Top Gear UK productions.”
“The report included a number of recommendations to improve approaches to safety as Top Gear is a complex programme-making environment routinely navigating tight filming schedules and ambitious editorial expectations challenges often experienced by long-running shows with an established on and off-screen team.
“Learnings included a detailed action plan involving changes in the ways of working, such as increased clarity on roles and responsibilities and better communication between teams for any future Top Gear production.”
Featured Image Credit: Gareth Copley/Getty Images/ITV
