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
James Engelsman, Francis Bourgeois and Thomas Holland are the new hosts of The Grand Tour (Image: Danny Martindale/Shutterstock)
‘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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