Top Gear (2002 TV series)

Top Gear is a British automotive magazine motoring-themed television programme. It is a revival of the 1977–2001 show of the same name for the BBC, devised by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman, which premiered on 20 October 2002. The programme expanded upon its earlier incarnation which focused on reviewing cars to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a specially designed track. The programme drew acclaim for its visual and presentation style, as well as criticism over the controversial nature of some content. The show was also praised for its humour and lore existing in not just the automotive community but in the form of internet memes and jokes. The programme aired on BBC Two until it was moved to BBC One in 2020.

The programme's first series in 2002 was presented by Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and Jason Dawe, with an anonymous test driver "The Stig" also being featured. Wilman was the show's executive producer. Following the first series, Dawe was replaced by James May, with the line-up unchanged until the end of the twenty-second series, when the BBC chose to not renew Clarkson's contract in March 2015, following an incident during filming. His dismissal from Top Gear prompted the departure of Hammond, May and Wilman from the programme, who joined Clarkson on a new motoring series for Amazon, The Grand Tour.

As a result, Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc were appointed as hosts of Top Gear and they were joined by four co-presenters for the twenty-third series. After negative feedback on this series, Evans resigned from the programme, with LeBlanc joined by Chris Harris and Rory Reid as the main hosts. From the twenty-seventh series onwards (2019), the presenting line-up was changed following the departure of LeBlanc and Reid, with Harris joined by Andrew Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness. This series proved more popular with viewers. Production of the thirty-fourth series was halted in March 2023 after Flintoff was injured in an accident during filming; the BBC later announced that Top Gear would not return for the "foreseeable future".

Top Gear has been one of the BBC's most commercially successful programmes since its relaunch. It has become a significant part of British popular culture, with episodes also broadcast in many countries in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and more, making it the most widely-broadcast factual television programme in the world. Its success has led to various forms of merchandising, including live tours, special DVD editions, and books, as well as spawning a variety of international versions in various countries.