#andy wilman

[ymas00]

I almost didn't click on this because DriveDribe's clickbait-strategy is THE WORST- but it's actually Richard and Andy talking bollocks for an hour??

I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but the first ten minutes already are gold.

[hereistherainbow]

I've finally finished reading Andy's book. The last bit about One For The Road made me cry. It's poignant and emotional. I'm not great with endings of my favourite shows in general, so it was inevitable that this part would make me tear up, but I was still not ready for the swarm of feelings it caused. Thank you, Andy.

[hereistherainbow]

A new interview with Andy. I love watching his interviews, so I knew lots of things he mentions in this one, but it's still pretty interesting to listen to him. I am about to start reading his book, so it's a perfect timing.

I don't like the title and the entire "trying to be sensationalist" edit at the beginning, but overall it's a good interview.

This man is a genius. He is such an integral part of TG/TGT. I have mad respect for him. He is also a creative force that inspires me a lot.

My personal highlights from this interview:

"What was the thing that without growing up in your earliest years you wouldn't have been at Top Gear magazine?"- "It was Jeremy."

Their epic friendship is honestly everything.

They didn't have access to the viewing numbers of TGT. So he was asked how Richard and James would feel about, let's say, 9 million consolidated views, and his answer shows how well he knows them:

"Richard Hammond is a TV animal. He absolutely knows that when the cameras go on, he's got a role to play and he understands the whole world of TV, and he will get excited by those numbers, because TV means everything to him. James would probably hide his pride a bit, but is that a surprise from the guy you watch?"

Yeah. That doesn't surprise me at all.

"How close are the guys to what you see on TV versus what you get down the pub?" - "Really close."

"Richard was always the funniest. When they were going to do one of their car introductions... Jeremy would be thinking about what he was going to say, and he'd like got his points worked out, cuz he's a columnist. He plans it, scrubs it through, writes it again. He's quick on the hoof, but something like that, he'll work it through. James, same. Hammond is on his phone, and you're like, "Fucking hell, we're filming in a minute." And then he will just blitz it with one-liners, his brain is so fast..."

"What was the angriest you ever were at Clarkson during the Top Gear days? Was it the day it all come to an end?" - "No, I wasn't angry then. Wasn't angry at all. I was sad".

"And then why was I not angry with Jeremy? Because he shoulders more than anybody else in terms of the work and the responsibility. We don't have to go out there and do what he does. And there's very few presenters who write as much or are as creative as he is behind the scenes cuz it's double workload."

Oh, Andy. Thank you for saying this. 💜

"BBC wanted me to stay and then they tried to make Richard and James stay. They campaigned to break the four of us up. "

"The BBC 2 controller comes to see me and goes, "Right, we got to get a new Top Gear going." And I'm looking at her thinking, "Are you fucking mental?" I'm not saying it, but I'm like, number one, can I grieve? Number two, you don't know what you've got rid of. I'm like, you just don't understand what you've lost. You just don't get it. And she's hoping that I'd go, "Right, okay. Let's rebuild and we'll have a new plan." And I was like, after a couple of weeks, I sorry, no, I'm done. It's not going to work. I don't want to do it".

BBC didn't understand what they'd lost. That's so true...

He also talks quite a lot about Clarkson's Farm. And how Jeremy's soft and caring side has always been there, it's nothing new, but the TG format didn't always allow it to shine.

"And if I had a quid for every Amazon executive went, can you talk him out of that (the idea of a farming show) please?"

I am really glad nobody talked him out of it, because I love this show so much.

So yeah, Andy knows them well, especially Jeremy. He is a loyal friend and an excellent producer. The best...in the world. I can definitely recommend watching/listening to this interview. And I am off to read his book...

[ymas00]

There we gooooo!

Out 6th November 2025

[ymas00]

This will pop up again in the Bond Car Compilation, but I'm particularly fond of it, so it gets it's own post.

From the Twitter of cameraman Iain May.

[itsduckinghard]

Pictures from a time when 300 px seemed enough

[everbecomesreal]

[chmisgod]

New Andy content just dropped