James May has speculated on the ‘natural conclusion’ of The Grand Tour, claiming that audiences would not want to see him and Richard Hammond without Jeremy Clarkson.
The latest episode of the TV series, Eurocrash, will be available on Amazon Prime Video later this month, when the trio embarks on a 1,400-mile drive through Eastern Europe.
The event promises to be a high-octane spectacle for petrolheads and die-hard fans of the former Top Gear performers, with stunts ranging from driving atop a moving jet to being shot at by horseback-riding archers.
In January of this year, it was reported that Clarkson was due to ‘part ways’ with Prime Video, Amazon’s on-demand video channel, following his controversial, vitriolic column about Meghan the Duchess of Sussex, for which he apologised after receiving a record amount of complaints.
According to Variety, the streaming service will not cooperate with the TV personality beyond the already commissioned seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm.
Following the accusation that the streaming platform has ‘broken connections’ with Clarkson, May speculated that The Grand Tour may be coming to a ‘natural conclusion’.
‘I mean, some people have said we’ve been cancelled,’ he told RadioTimes.com.
‘But really we’re getting quite close to the end of our contract, but we didn’t really have any particular plans to keep going because we’re all really just getting a bit old. It might be time to let someone else have a crack at it.’
The 60-year-old also expressed his view that fans ‘wouldn’t want to see’ a version of The Grand Tour without Clarkson involved.
‘I don’t think they’d want to see any two of us try and carry on the thing that the three of us are known for together,’ he told LadBible.
May went on to say that he ‘doubts’ a switch to another platform is likely.
‘To be honest, I think the really difficult bit in TV, films, showbiz, you know, all that stuff is, is knowing when to stop. And most people don’t,’ he said.
‘Most people keep going until they fly into a cliff… what you should try and do is land it and walk away. And I hope we can do that.’
May added: ‘It just wouldn’t be as good, to be honest, so, quit while you’re ahead. If indeed, we are ahead,’ joking that the stars were ‘knocking on a bit’.
The Grand Tour: Eurocrash will be available to stream from Friday June 16 on Prime Video.
