Jeremy Clarkson rejects 'dull' James May, picks ‘train man from internet’ in hilarious selection of The Grand Tour hosts

The British motoring television series has been rebooted with new faces. Jeremy Clarkson seemed to be having a lot of fun selecting the new faces.

The Grand Tour is back with new faces! The makers of the popular British motoring television series have confirmed the new hosts of the Prime Video series, set to be released later this year. In a quirky new video shared by the official Instagram account of The Grand Tour, former presenter and host Jeremy Clarkson was seen hilariously approving the new hopefuls for the roles based on their CVs.

Jeremy Clarkson was seen ticking the new hosts for The Grand Tour based on their CVs.

Alongside Jeremy Clarkson, the previous hosts of the show were Richard Hammond and James May. In the new video, Jeremy said, “There are the CVs from all of the people who want to be a presenter on the new Grand Tour show.” He immediately says no upon seeing the first one, and commentes, “Full beard!” Another aspirant is named James May and Jeremy comments, “Oh he sounds dull.”

Then comes the CV of Thomas Holland, and Jeremy sounds impressed with the statement that he frquently shares opinion as if it is a fact, and will change the subject when challenged! “Yes!” he squeals as he puts the stamp of approval.

Next is Francis Bourgeois, who Jeremy recognises instantly. “Oh I know this one! He is the train man from the internet!” He approves him even as he reads that Francis has a 20-20 vision, but can see things behind him! After rejecting a couple of other CVs based on their height and moustache, he finally takes a better look at the CV of James Engelsman. He is sold at the wicked sense of humour in it, where James says that his height depends on which dating app he is in. Approved without any further delay! “Get them in, they look good!” Jeremy concludes.

New hosts of The Grand Tour

So, the new hosts are therefore declared! They are trainspotter Francis Bourgeois, alongside James Engelsman and Thomas Holland, the creators of the YouTube show Throttle House.

Speaking of the new era of the show, Francis Bourgeois said: "The saying 'big shoes to fill' spring to mind. Well, in this case it'll be like Mo Farah running in size 14 wellies—it'll be a little awkward at first, perhaps blister-inducing, but will overall be an interesting watch." He is a famous trainspotter, with a social media audience of almost six million.

Meanwhile, James Engelsman said: “I've worked with Thomas for almost a decade making car films. Who knew that all this time, the one ingredient that was missing was a Francis Bourgeois? Let the car adventures commence.” In a statement, Thomas Holland said: "When I first heard they were rebooting The Grand Tour and replacing Clarkson, Hammond and May, I said 'only a moron would take that job.'" James and Thomas are the duo behind Throttle House, the popular Canadian YouTube channel known for their in-depth car reviews.

Why did the previous hosts leave?

The previous hosts left the show and ended their collaboration after more than two decades because they believed they had exhausted the medium and that it demanded new faces. Richard had told Radio Times in 2024, “It will be carrying on. The Grand Tour continues. We're stepping away as the hosts, but Prime will be continuing it. So I can't wait to sit on my own chair and watch somebody else do it. That's amazing.”

The new hosts will be the faces of a six-part, globe-trotting series. The adventure will cover the Angolan desert in track cars to move around Malaysia's vibrant car culture. They will also head to California to test America's latest and greatest performance cars.