Jeremy Clarkson, James May & Richard Hammond make shock Grand Tour U-turn as they return to star in rebooted show

THREE very familiar petrolheads will join the new presenting trio when The Grand Tour returns next month. Original hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will help provide a smooth and convivial transition as the Prime Video show reboots. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are set to return to The Grand Tour in a surprise comeback twist Credit: Getty The trio will help provide a smooth transition as the Prime Video show reboots Credit: PA The trio, who presented the previous six series, will lend their support by joining the new hosts — YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman, who are known for their motoring content, along with train enthusiast Francis Bourgeois. Co-creator and TV producer Andy Wilman said: “We’ve got three guys coming soon with a new Grand Tour and we’ve got behind them. We’re really supporting them.” Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Andy, who is also executive producer of Clarkson’s Farm, added: “Our guys are in the shows doing cameos, so we’re wishing them well because we do want to pass that baton on.” Talking to 3Bs radio at the Buckingham Literary Festival, he explained: “When those three (Clarkson and co) go away, you can’t parachute in three new, good presenters who are funny. That’s like describing the show over the phone to an alien — ‘you just need three funny blokes and they muck about’. It’s not going to work.” But we know Jeremy approves of the newcomers being brought in for the seventh Grand Tour outing, which drops on September 4. Unlike two recent Top Gear hosts, Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness, the new presenters are not celebrities. Jezza has said previously: “There’s no point hiring somebody who ‘likes’ cars. Because that’s not enough. “I would get three complete unknowns. Start small, like we did. They’ve got to be absolute petrolheads. Most read in TV “I’ve got to be able to show them a picture of a quarter of a door mirror from any car ever made, and they’ve got to know what it is. “That would be my advice.” Looks like they’ve listened, Jeremy. CARELESS WHISKERS Danny Dyer sports facial fuzz and an iconic Wham! T-shirt as he appears in a parade of floats for the second series of The Dyers’ Caravan Park Credit: Alamy The parade at the Leysdown Carnival on Kent’s Isle of Sheppey Credit: Alamy DANNY DYER sports facial fuzz and an iconic Wham! T-shirt as he appears in a parade of floats for the second series of The Dyers’ Caravan Park. He was snapped doing a very loose impersonation of the late, great Careless Whisper singer George Michael, alongside daughter Dani, at the Leysdown Carnival on Kent’s Isle of Sheppey. Others on the float were dressed as Elton John and Freddie Mercury. Danny and Dani have invested in the coastal village’s Priory Hill Holiday Park, which featured in the first series of their Sky show last year. The second season is due out in 2027, by which time we might have worked out who Dani was impersonating. ITV has snapped up legal thriller The Rainmaker, based on crime writer John Grisham’s best-seller. It kicks off with a double bill on ITV1 on ­September 4, with all ten episodes immediately available on ITVX. It sees rookie lawyer Rudy go head-to-head with courtroom lion Leo. ROMCOM JOY FOR ARTHUR Arthur Conti will play the young version of Dr Alex Comfort, who created the lovemaking guide Credit: Getty AN actor with a serious showbiz pedigree will feature in the upcoming romcom about landmark book The Joy Of Sex. In one of his first major roles, Arthur Conti will play the young version of Dr Alex Comfort, who created the lovemaking guide. His mum is comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti, and his gran Kara Wilson played art teacher Miss Gordon on Grange Hill. His grandfather is stage and screen veteran Tom Conti, who played Albert Einstein in 2023 movie Oppenheimer. No pressure then, Arthur. Colin Firth portrays the older version of the academic, while Laura Linney and Julianne Moore play his wife Ruth and her best friend Jane – Dr Alex’s mistress, who he later weds. David Tennant and Jason Watkins are also in the cast. The pair previously appeared together in the true-crime drama Des. PREGNANT I’m A Celeb star Vogue Williams issued Jamie Theakston with a warning while standing in for his Heart Breakfast co-host Amanda Holden. She told him: “Please, whatever you do, don’t tell me to take a nap. People can’t stop telling me to go to bed and I can’t take it any more.” DEVIL OF A TASK FOR JASE Jason Flemyng is joining the line-up for the rebooted Bergerac Credit: Getty THE rebooted Bergerac is returning for a third series on U, and this time new cast members will feature in the Jersey-based drama. Joining the line-up is movie veteran Jason Flemyng as well as Tessa Peake-Jones, Georgia Tennant and Lee Ingleby. Damien Molony will return to play the title role alongside Zoe Wanamaker and Robert Gilbert. The new six-parter sees Bergerac investigate his most shocking case yet, when his only significant lead in a suspicious death is a DNA match to Jersey’s most notorious unsolved murder – the Devil’s Hole case. Unfortunately, the new series won’t be available until next year. Comment now