Hello CT. My name is Richard Porter and I was the script editor on Top Gear. Ask me anything.

28 Oct 2015

After working on the show for 13 years, 22 series and 175 programmes, there’s quite a lot I can tell you about Top Gear. I know whose idea it was to get a dog, I was there when we got threatened by drug barons in Bolivia, I can give you the real story of that Porsche number plate. I’ve put all these things in my new book, but you can ask me about them anyway. Or something else. Up to you. I’m here all night. Try the soup in a basket.

Comments

I gotta know…when the semi backed into james’ sandero, that was scripted right??
Also, did the guys actually build the bridge over the river qui themselves?

That might have been a bit planned. There was some local help with the bridge, as you saw with the extra cranes and stuff.

In the Argentina special, Jeremy said there had been a plan to remedy the crisis with the number plate…What was that going to be?

We were having some new plates flown out with a crew member who was joining halfway. They said BELL END or something like that. Gag was that RH & JM would prank Jeremy with them. All too late.

Was Jeremy ever REALLY beaten from any of the random people he used to piss off during outdoors shooting?

on a scale of 1 to 10, how hard is Clarkson’s punch, and are his fists really made from ham?

Hi Richard, If you could have any car what would it be?

Oh, too hard a question. TOO. HARD. Can I have a few? Like, maybe, seven. Or nine. Or 20.

In the episode when they race to the airport. Is it the actual stig that rides public transport or is it just someone from the crew? Btw can ur book be shipped worldwide?

That really was The Stig. If you saw someone in the Stig suit, it was usually the Stig. Only he could really get the body language right.

I think book can be shipped worldwide. Depends where you are, I suppose.

Im just wondering, how was the relationship of stig with the team? i mean do they come on the backstage and talk just like normal people, or the stig just came there and do his things and leave the stage as the god he is ?Also, the stig, its the same person from season 1 to the last one? or the bbc changed the person at one point?

We would talk to Stig like normal, but it’s quite weird chatting to a man behind a visor. Not a natural conversation. Also, the first Stig (one of three) used to hide his identity by putting on a funny accent. I’ve written about this in my book.

Yes, that’s right folks, another shameless plug for the book. Did you see it coming? Oh. You did. Damn.

Do u like Phil Collins

Not really. There’s that one song he did I quite like. You know, the one that goes du du du dududdu dudu doooooo.

When Jeremy says : “lets queue the music” and the three start modifing their cars, how much of the work did they actually do them-selves ?

Some, but because the cars had to be safe and legal to use on the road, we had to make sure it wasn’t all their work. Well, all Jeremy’s work. Richard and James are quite good, mechanically speaking.