Andy Wilman doubles down on defence of new The Grand Tour trio as he issues renewed plea amid backlash

“To them I’d say, give them a go,” he said.

Now, during a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Thursday, Mr Wilman expanded on his desire for fans of the motoring show not to be hasty with their criticism.

When asked directly by a fan what he’d say to people who have already written new hosts James Engelsman, Thomas Holland, and Francis Bourgeois off, Mr Wilman replied: “I would say that they are part of this whole relationship, and therefore need to give them a chance.

“You can’t just sit back and be a ‘viewer’, if you’ve loved what we do, cos you know it was always push and pull.

“You watched us be good, you watched us be s**t, you watched us morph, and that was a wonderful relationship.

“Now the new Gs are here, you have to play your part by giving them a shot,” he insisted.

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Mr Wilman also revealed that the original trio of Mr Clarkson, Mr May and Mr Hammond had to give the green light to all of their replacements before they could move forward with the hiring process.

He revealed the former Top Gear trio “were sent audition tapes and cuts of the guys in their films”. Mr Wilman added: “Only if they liked them would they have given them the thumbs up.”

It was a never a given that the three new hosts would step into the roles. Mr Wilman also revealed that they considered a female host to replace Mr Clarkson and co.

“We absolutely would and we absolutely did,” he replied when asked if the team considered a female presenter. “We threw the net wide when we auditioned, but in the end the brief was to cast on the merit of how the trio worked, and it was these three.”

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Mr Clarkson, Mr Hammond and Mr May departed the Amazon Prime show in 2024, with Amazon reportedly spending at least six months searching for their replacements before settling on the new line-up.

However, much like Mr Wilman, the trio do have some influence in the new series, with the fresh line-up heading to Diddly Squat for words of advice.

They arrive at his farm in the Cotswolds to retrieve the old portable Grand Tour studio, which Mr Clarkson has converted into a farm shop, but really they’re there to secure his approval.

Mr Clarkson obliges with characteristic bluntness. “Listen, guys. Seriously. Have fun with this. Good luck. Don’t f*** it up. Right?” he tells them.

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In a separate moment, speaking directly to camera, he offers a wholehearted endorsement: “They’re very, very good. You’re gonna love it.”

Back in March, Mr Clarkson had already voiced his confidence on the Autocar podcast, describing the new presenters as “bl**dy funny” and insisting the format would work.

Mr Wilman, who has remained involved as a consultant on the revamped programme, revealed that he wanted the original hosts to make brief appearances throughout the series, likening the concept to a Marvel Universe “where Iron Man, Spider-Man and Ant-Man turn up to help Captain America, or similar”.

Mr Hammond and Mr May will both feature alongside Mr Clarkson’s farm cameo, with the former at his workshop and the latter at his pub.

The opening episode whisks the new presenters to California, where they put three American muscle cars through their paces: the Ford Mustang GTD, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the £2m Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evolution.

Formula One champion Jenson Button is drafted in to help set lap times, before the trio take on fighter jets in a high-speed race.

A subsequent trip to Malaysia sees the group delve into the country’s deep-rooted automotive culture, while also testing how cheaply a sports car can be purchased before it falls apart.

The six-episode run concludes with the presenters tackling the Angolan desert in track cars entirely unsuited to the conditions.