James May Says ‘Top Gear’ Needs a ‘Rethink’ After BBC Puts Show on Pause — but Don’t Expect Him to ‘Come Back and Rescue It’

After the BBC revealed that “Top Gear” won’t be returning “for the foreseeable future,” former presenter James May has said that the series needs “a bit of a rethink.”

In an interview on the BBC’s “Today” podcast, May — who hosted “Top Gear” alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond for over a decade — said that the show must be revamped whenever it does return.

More from Variety

• 'Top Gear' Not Returning for the 'Foreseeable Future,' BBC Says

• 'Top Gear' Format Gets Finnish Makeover - Global Bulletin

• 'Top Gear' Halted After Andrew Flintoff Crash

“My honest view is — I can say this now — it does need a bit of a rethink,” May told the BBC. “It’s time for a new format and a new approach to the subject because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car has been invented.”

On Tuesday, the BBC announced that “Top Gear” had officially been put on pause following a halt in production after presenter Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff was injured in an on-set accident in December. Flintoff had been a presenter on “Top Gear” since 2019, alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.

“I’ve only met Freddie once or twice but it’s obviously more serious than we all thought,” May said of Flintoff’s accident.

In 2015, May and Hammond left the series after Clarkson was fired for punching a producer, and the trio went on to host a new automotive series, “The Grand Tour,” on Amazon Prime Video. However, May had a few words for fans who have been asking him to “come back and rescue” the show following Tuesday’s news.

“It did annoy me a bit because there were a lot of people saying, ‘They’ve done that wrong and now you can come back and rescue it,'” May said, adding of Flintoff: “The bloke’s hurt himself very badly in a life-changing way, obviously. And you could perhaps not use it as an opportunity to be partisan. You could perhaps just say, ‘Rotten bit of luck, hope you get well soon.'”

May’s full interview on the BBC’s “Today” podcast will be released on Thursday.

Best of Variety

• Oscars Predictions: International Feature – AMPAS' Voting Groups are Set; Which Movies Have the Best Shot at Making the Shortlist?

• Oscars Predictions: Best Actor - Will the 10th (or 11th, 12th or 13th?) Time be the Winning Charm for Bradley Cooper in 'Maestro?'

• New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.