stuck

The Grand Tour’s new lineup is filled with “testosterone-fuelled petrolheads” again, and it’s certainly not a progressive apporach to things, says Nicola Methven

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ the old adage goes, and that’s certainly what they’ve gone for with The Grand Tour.

Perhaps you can’t blame them. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond proved enormously popular after they de-camped from the BBC’s Top Gear and so having three white blokes is a tried and tested formula that no one can argue with.

Testosterone-fuelled petrolheads is what we are used to, and what we are getting.

Andy Wilman says it’s ‘comfort food’ for the audience. But progressive? It certainly isn’t. And the notion that sticking a female car expert into the mix would somehow turn the show into a box-ticking exercise does rankle. What is this, the 1990s?

On the question of whether a male presenter could have infiltrated the fashion world formerly occupied by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine (20 years ago!) I’m going to say, yes, he could. Let’s ask Gok Wan what he thinks.

This whole gender-based stereotyping is just incredibly tedious and without anyone ever pushing back, will never change.

But when it comes to the trio they have chosen, Wilman is not wrong when he says they are likeable. They really are.

Between them, James, Francis and Canadian Thomas have about a trillion followers across every platform imaginable. They eat, breathe, and sleep the one same thing: cars.

Watching the first episode as they race around in motors worth more than some people’s houses, you can feel the passion oozing out of them. Their interaction with guest driver Jenson Button is also very funny.

None of them can hide their glee at being let loose on some of the fastest vehicles on the planet. But they show just as much enthusiasm when it comes to winning races in clapped out old bangers worth £100.

The secret to their imminent TV success is their authentic joy for what they are doing, which is contagious for the viewers. After a few minutes of watching, everyone at home will have adrenaline levels that are sky high, to match theirs. Also, they look so damn happy, you can’t watch without getting a bit of that feel-good glow.

Of course, a woman would be capable of all this too.

When it comes to moving forwards, this show is stuck in a rut. But will it be a car-crash? Absolutely not.

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A HUGE US singer shared the agonising moment that a fish hook was stuck in his HEAD.

In a gruesome video, Tyler Hubbard, who is best known for the band Florida Georgia Line, was seen with a wounded head as his wife Hayley pulled the hook out.

The horrifying moment came during a family fishing trip with his wife and their three kids.

The family were camping by the lake, when their vacation took a turn.

Posting on Instagram, the American star shared a video called: “Breakfast had to wait.”

Next fans were shown Tyler’s wife wrestling with the hook in his head.

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Although he didn’t reveal how he ended up with the fish hook buried in his head, Hayley was seen gently trying to prise it out.

She was then heard asking her family: “Are there any tricks to this?”

One of their children then reassured their dad that there was “no need to worry”.

“Mom is just going to pull it out right away,” the kid said.

After much wrestling with the hook, Hayley finally said: “Oh, we got it!”

The horrifying fish hook moment comes just days after Tyler teased more reunion plans with his former Florida Georgia Line bandmate Brian Kelley.

The pair called it quits four years ago after being together for a decade.

However this summer they reunited for a several performances, which included CMA Fest in June.

SINKHOLES found under a railway bridge have caused all trains to and from Gatwick airport to be suspended leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

The holes near Purley Bridge in South London required “urgent repairs”, engineers from Network Rail have said and the line isn’t expected to open until tomorrow morning.

All services between Purley and East Croydon were closed while an inspection was carried out by a structural engineer.

This has put a stop to all trains heading to Gatwick Airport and Brighton from London Bridge or London Victoria and left thousands stranded.

Travellers lined the road outside the airport while others waited hours for a rail replacement bus service.

The rail disruption has forced many passengers to drive to the airport resulting in major congestion as hundreds of cars try to get to the terminals.

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Many have taken to social media to express their fury and fear as tempers in the gathering crowds start to flare.

One user said: “Absolute shambles at Gatwick airport! People queuing for over 2 hours to get network replacement coach into London. Tempers flaring amongst crowds. I’m scared!!!”

Others said they were having to fork out for inflated Uber fares back to London.

They posted: “@uber why on earth do you think it’s acceptable to charge people £250 to get from Gatwick Airport to Croydon with all the trains being cancelled? Absolutely criminal!,”

Network Rail explained: “Sinkholes were spotted on the bridge, meaning that ballast, the stones that the track sits on, was falling through the gap, making the track unstable.

“We’ve since carried out a thorough inspection of the bridge and are working to safely plug the gaps so that trains can safely run again.”

Sinkholes appear when rock at the surface collapses and leaves a big hole.

They are often saucer-shaped and can form for many reasons.

A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “There are currently no trains running between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria or London Bridge due to blocked rail lines at Purley.

“Passengers travelling to the airport are advised to consider alternative routes and allow extra time for their journey.

“For those travelling from Gatwick Airport into London, rail replacement bus services are operating between the airport and East Croydon. 

“Due to high demand, passengers at the airport may experience longer waiting times for rail replacement services, and we appreciate your patience while alternative transport is in place.”

Network Rail later took to X to apologise for the disruption and said the lines had to be closed “for the safety of passengers”.

“Over the course of the afternoon our engineers have carried out thorough inspections on the bridge and have worked to plug the sinkholes, allowing trains to safely run again,” they said.

“Though trains are now running we do expect there to be disruption into the night so we’re urging passengers to check before travelling.

“We will be accepting today’s tickets on tomorrow’s services due to the disruption today.”

However, Southern Rail still urged passengers not to travel, saying: “You are strongly advised to delay your journey. A very limited service is now able to run, however these services are expected to be full.”