Alison Hammond’s remark to Richard Hammond on the’similarities’ between The Grand Tour and Top Gear alarmed Dermot O’Leary on This Morning.
Richard, 53, rose to prominence on the BBC car show, which debuted in 2002, alongside Jeremy Clarkson, 63, and James May, 60.
However, their version of the long-running series was cancelled in 2016, after it was revealed that Clarkson was involved in a confrontation with a producer over a steak, which was brought to him cold after a day of filming.
Clarkson was fired from the programme by the BBC after assaulting producer Oisin Tymon, who eventually obtained a £100,000 settlement from the television host.
Following the departure of the Clarkson’s Farm presenter, Richard and James chose to quit as well, claiming that the trio ‘come as a package,’ before going on to feature in the Amazon automotive series The Grand Tour together.
Richard arrived on This Morning on Friday to promote the forthcoming season of The Grand Tour, but not before Alison, 48, made some cheeky remarks.
‘I’m so excited about this because I love The Grand Tour but – and I said this to you earlier – it’s basically Top Gear,’ she remarked.
Laughing, Richard insisted: ‘We reinvent ourselves every time and it’s fresh and new, we haven’t been pedaling the same old stuff so do not say that.’
But undeterred, Alison continued: ‘The Grand Tour. T is Top, G is Grand and then you got T. Top Gear Two. It’s the same programme, innit?’
‘Alright Sherlock,’ Richard jibed, as Dermot bowed his head looking visibly concerned.
Dermot, smirking, jokingly begged: ‘Richard, please stay for the interview.’
The future of The Grand Tour appears to be in jeopardy due to comments Clarkson made about Meghan Markle in which he stated he fantasised of her being paraded through the streets and disgraced.
Clarkson later apologised for the essay, calling his words “disgraceful” and apologising “profoundly.” The Sun also apologised and stated it regretted publishing the editorial, which was later deleted off the website.
Following the comments, it was revealed that Amazon Prime Video will not be collaborating with the TV personality beyond the seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm that have already been commissioned.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
Source My Celebrity Life.
