A few years ago, while staying in one of those gloriously run-down seaside hotels in an old port town on the South coast of England, I noticed a painting in the foyer. It featured a ship and a classic car, and in the frame was written the painting’s title: “Viceless Ladies”.

Non-politically correct seaside kitsch is one thing, but it’s a fact that vehicles are usually considered feminine by their adoring owners. And so you could argue that Top Gear, that most blokey of car shows, with laddish humour at its beating heart, has had women as its real stars all along.

In a more literal sense, though, the presenting team has always been male-weighted. That’s fine: so has the audience. But in the last series a welcome addition to the flawed post-Clarkson era presenting team was the German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, who proved herself to be an entertaining TV personality as well as passionate and articulate when discussing cars.