Top Gear Races to New Home on TV3

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Top Gear Races to New Home on TV3

Tuesday 27 January 2015: MediaWorks and BBC Worldwide ANZ today announced that they have signed a long-term commitment to broadcast Top Gear on TV3 in New Zealand.

The new ten-part series (series 22) and the two-part Patagonia special, which recently transmitted in the UK, will be exclusively available to view on TV3 from February 2015.

Presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, Top Gear is the world’s biggest and best-known car entertainment show. Its three presenters drive the show with their unique blend of knowledge, passion and enthusiasm matched by a sense of humour, mischief and the ability to never take themselves too seriously.

This unrivalled format has made Top Gear the world’s most widely watched factual television program, with a global audience estimated at over 350m in 214 territories worldwide.

Mark Caulton, TV3’s Director of Programming says: “Top Gear is an iconic television series, hugely popular with audiences all around the world and we’re tremendously excited about its arrival at TV3. The series represents a ‘marquee’ addition to our stellar line-up for 2015 and demonstrates our commitment to deliver the very best entertainment content for our audience.”

Irene Read, Director of TV Sales at BBC Worldwide ANZ, says: “This is a great partnership between two strong entertainment brands and I’m delighted that TV3 will be the home of Top Gear in New Zealand going forward.”

The new deal also includes forthcoming Top Gear specials and the Top Gear US series.

Top Gear launches on TV3 in February with the Top Gear Patagonia Special, followed by the new ten-part series.

Programme information:

Top Gear Patagonia Special

Featuring the most grueling car exploits yet, the special sees the boys take three V8 sports cars on a 1600 mile trek through Patagonia. The usual habitat for a Porsche 928, a Lotus Esprit and a Ford Mustang is the civilized world of tarmac, but in the hands of Jeremy, Richard and James, these three sports-bred machines face swamps, deserts, forests, beaches and ski slopes as they try to get to the southernmost city in the world, in order to stage an epic game of card football against Argentina.

Along the way there are broken bones, epic backdrops, mechanical calamities and cows, plus a climax that wasn’t exactly the one that was expected.

Top Gear Series 22

The new series of Top Gear is explosive and extra-long. In the first episode, Jeremy, Richard and James are in Russia for an incredible race across the vast and very beautiful urban landscape of St Petersburg. May defends the honour of the car in a very small Renault, Hammond tries to prove that pedalling is faster by saddling up a bicycle, whilst Clarkson attempts to demonstrate that water is the quickest way across town, especially if you’re in a hovercraft. To make matters more complicated, all three presenters are racing not only each other but also The Stig, who is silently making his way towards the finish line on public transport.

Also in the first episode, Richard Hammond is at the test track to find out if the dramatic new Lamborghini Huracan is as flamboyant and fun as an Italian supercar should be. Plus, another top celebrity guest tests their steely eyed driving skills as the “Star in the Reasonably Priced Car’.

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