Show continues global expansion despite Jeremy Clarkson’s exit, with Sky Italia airing local series fronted by Guido Meda and Joe Bastianich

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Top Gear is going to Sky. Not in the UK but a remake of the hit BBC motoring format for Sky Italia on its pay-TV entertainment channel, Sky Uno.



Italy becomes the fifth overseas territory to adapt the show and the first since Jeremy Clarkson’s axing following a fracas with a producer earlier this year.



Top Gear Italia will be fronted by motoring journalist Guido Meda and Joe Bastianich, a well-known TV personality, restaurant entrepreneur and vintage car collector. A third presenter is still to be confirmed.



Top Gear is one of the BBC’s most valuable shows, making around £50m a year for its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.



Tobi de Graaff, executive vice-president of Western Europe at BBC Worldwide, said: “We know that Top Gear already has a strong and established presence in Italy with the original UK series and the magazine proving hugely popular.

“Adding a local version to the mix in a country steeped in motoring history will be fantastic for Italian audiences.”



The Top Gear format has already been remade in the US, China, South Korea and France. The show is also broadcast in 212 territories globally.



BBC’s Top Gear launches local version in China Read more

The show will return in the UK on BBC2 next year with an all-new lineup headed by Radio 2 breakfast DJ, Chris Evans.



Tim Davie, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, said earlier this month that Evans would do a “wonderful job” of reinventing the show.



The last episode of Top Gear featuring Clarkson and his fellow co-presenters, Richard Hammond and James May, aired on BBC2 last month, watched by more than 5 million viewers.

The trio are expected to reunite with the show’s former executive producer Andy Wilman on a rival broadcaster, but without the Top Gear name which is owned by the BBC.

