Paddy McGuinness has broken his silence after the BBC announced that Top Gear would not be returning “for the foreseeable future”.
The broadcaster confirmed on Tuesday that it has “decided to rest” the hit motoring show. Reports regarding the show’s future began circulating late last year, when production of the 34th series was cancelled following presenter Freddie Flintoff’s on-set accident.McGuinness – who co-hosted the last seven Top Gear seasons, alongside Flintoff and Chris Harris – has now taken to Instagram to respond to the news.
Uploading a slew of images celebrating their time on the show, he captioned his post: “We were always going to be bellends but we were your bellends.
“Thanks for all the love over the years folks, it was very much appreciated,” the 50-year-old, Lancashire-born star added.
In its statement, the BBC stressed that it “remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show's renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them”.
Adding: “We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.”
Meanwhile, James May, who used to present the long-running show with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, said it will be a “shame” if the BBC does not give Top Gear a “rethink”.
May, 60, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the decision is “very sad”.
But he said: “It does need a bit of a rethink. It’s time for a new format and a new approach to the subject because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car was invented.
“And it would be a shame if an organisation like the BBC didn’t have something to say about it."
