The Forgotten Presenters Of Top Gear

BBC veteran Rippon was the launch presenter of the show, back in 1977 when it was only broadcast in the Midlands from Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham (it even used the same music, Jessica, by the Allman Brothers Band). It went nationwide the following year, with features on police driver training, holiday driving, traffic jams and rust.

Coyne was Rippon’s co-host in the show’s first incarnation. After 'Top Gear’, and following stints on shows like 'Nationwide’ and 'Songs of Praise’, he went on to voice Gordon Armstrong, the geordie gamekeeper from Radio 4’s 'The Archers’ for three years.

Long before the hilarity of Blobby and Crinkly Bottom, Edmonds tested out cars for the show, starting under Angela Rippon’s tenure as host. In one episode, the big show off got to wallop his own Ford GT40 around Silverstone. He took over from Rippon as presenter for two series in 1980. Fiat threatened to sue the BBC after Edmonds said its Strada was 'positively ugly’.

Father of Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey, Chris Goffey, with his comforting beard and sobering tank tops, was the authoritative foil to Clarkson’s cocky schtick. Clarkson has often mused that he should have returned to the show. He now works as a driver for a mobile library service in Oxfordshire.

After its ratings had plummeted to below three million, from its peak of over six million, former Men & Motors presenter Brendan Coogan joined the show briefly in 1998. He left after just six episodes following a conviction for drink driving, which obviously made his role a bit untenable. He is the brother of comedian Steve Coogan, and Martin Coogan, singer in the Mock Turtles.

Racing driver Vicki Butler-Henderson (granddaughter of the early motor car designer and racer Archibald Frazer-Nash) joined the crew in 1997, as the women who could drive rings around her male co-hosts. When the show was cancelled, she jumped ship with Tiff Needell and Quentin Wilson to host 'Fifth Gear’.

Barlow joined the show from Channel 4’s rival 'Driven’ (with James May) in 2000. Then things got complex. Because Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Adrian Simpson had defected to Channel 5 to make 'Fifth Gear’, he was the only remaining presenter. He made a solo, one-off 'Top Gear’ special at the 2002 Motorshow from the NEC, even though the main series had been cancelled. Barlow was still under contract, so couldn’t go with his chums to 'Fifth Gear’. Instead he was given the show 'Wrong Car, Right Car’ to host instead, which he did for two series. He still writes about cars for the likes of GQ and the Sunday Times.

After the show was cancelled in 2001 and then re-launched in 2002, former car dealer Jason Dawe joined Clarkson and Richard Hammond on the new team. He was always a bit sidelined though, kept away from the supercars and fun challenges, and relegated to covering the bargain motors. He was binned off, with James May brought in to 'refresh’ the line up. The rest is history.