List of Top Gear (1977 TV series) episodes
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The following is a complete episode list of the BBC television series Top Gear that ran from April 1977 to December 2001, a total of 524 episodes. After the cancellation of the series in 2001, the BBC were convinced into running a revamped show with a new format, which became the widely popular series of the same title launched in 2002.
Episodes
[edit]Top Gear was a series of programmes broadcast by the BBC covering motor related issues, new car model reviews, motor show previews, fuel economy, safety, the police, speeding, insurance, consumer advice and used car sales tips among other issues. Many presenters featured over the course of the series, most notably Angela Rippon, Noel Edmonds, William Woollard, Chris Goffey, Judith Jackson, Sue Baker, Tiff Needell, Jeremy Clarkson, Quentin Willson and Vicki Butler-Henderson.
When it became a network show, it was broadcast on BBC 2 on Thursday nights for Series 1, then on Tuesday nights between Series 2 and Series 17, then reverting to the original Thursday timeslot from Series 18 to the end of its run. In all, 524 episodes (515 plus the nine regional shows) were broadcast between 1977 and 2002, with a large majority of that figure being Top Gear itself.
The original series of the Top Gear programme was broadcast in BBC Midlands region only. There were nine programmes, the first of which went out on BBC 1 Midlands, on 22 April 1977. The listing below does not include these original regional shows, it begins when the programme became a network transmission.
| Series | Editions | Start Date | End Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 10 | 13 July 1978 | 14 September 1978 | |
| Series 2 | 10 | 1 May 1979 | 3 July 1979 | First appearance of Judith Jackson |
| Series 3 | 6 | 1 April 1980 | 20 May 1980 | |
| Series 4 | 6 | 2 September 1980 | 7 October 1980 | |
| Series 5 | 8 | 21 April 1981 | 9 June 1981 | |
| Series 6 | 7 | 3 November 1981 | 15 December 1981 | |
| Series 7 | 8 | 13 April 1982 | 1 June 1982 | |
| Series 8 | 6 | 7 September 1982 | 12 October 1982 | Last appearance of Judith Jackson |
| Series 9 | 9 | 29 January 1983 | 19 April 1983 | |
| Series 10 | 8 | 6 September 1983 | 25 October 1983 | |
| Series 11 | 8 | 28 February 1984 | 25 April 1984 | |
| Series 12 | 7 | 23 October 1984 | 11 December 1984 | |
| Series 13 | 9 | 5 March 1985 | 30 April 1985 | |
| Series 14 | 8 | 3 September 1985 | 22 October 1985 | |
| Series 15 | 10 | 8 April 1986 | 10 June 1986 | |
| Series 16 | 8 | 9 September 1986 | 28 October 1986 | |
| Series 17 | 8 | 7 April 1987 | 26 May 1987 | First appearance of Tiff Needell |
| Series 18 | 11 | 10 September 1987 | 19 November 1987 | |
| Series 19 | 8 | 7 April 1988 | 26 May 1988 | |
| Series 20 | 8 | 29 September 1988 | 17 November 1988 | First appearance of Jeremy Clarkson |
| Series 21 | 8 | 21 March 1989 | 9 May 1989 | |
| Series 22 | 10 | 14 September 1989 | 16 November 1989 | |
| Series 23 | 8 | 27 March 1990 | 15 May 1990 | |
| Series 24 | 10 | 27 September 1990 | 29 November 1990 | |
| Series 25 | 10 | 28 February 1991 | 2 May 1991 | Last appearance of William Woollard and Sue Baker |
| Series 26 | 12 | 19 September 1991 | 19 December 1991 | First appearance of Quentin Willson |
| Series 27 | 11 | 27 February 1992 | 7 May 1992 | |
| Series 28 | 12 | 24 September 1992 | 17 December 1992 | |
| Series 29 | 17 | 18 February 1993 | 10 June 1993 | |
| Series 30 | 15 | 9 September 1993 | 30 December 1993 | |
| Series 31 | 10 | 3 March 1994 | 12 May 1994 | |
| Series 32 | 12 | 22 September 1994 | 15 December 1994 | |
| Series 33 | 13 | 16 February 1995 | 11 May 1995 | |
| Series 34 | 14 | 21 September 1995 | 21 December 1995 | |
| Series 35 | 14 | 15 February 1996 | 16 May 1996 | |
| Series 36 | 14 | 5 September 1996 | 5 December 1996 | |
| Series 37 | 17 | 16 January 1997 | 15 May 1997 | First appearance of Vicki Butler-Henderson |
| Series 38 | 16 | 4 September 1997 | 18 December 1997 | |
| Series 39 | 13 | 19 February 1998 | 14 May 1998 | Last appearance of Michele Newman |
| Series 40 | 15 | 10 September 1998 | 17 December 1998 | Last appearance of Jeremy Clarkson |
| Series 41 | 12 | 18 March 1999 | 3 June 1999 | First and Last appearance of James May |
| Series 42 | 14 | 9 September 1999 | 9 December 1999 | First appearance of Kate Humble |
| Series 43 | 18 | 20 January 2000 | 25 May 2000 | |
| Series 44 | 15 | 7 September 2000 | 14 December 2000 | First appearance of Jason Barlow and Adrian Simpson Last appearance of Kate Humble |
| Series 45 | 35 | 22 February 2001 | 17 December 2001 | Last appearance of Tiff Needell, Quentin Willson, Andy Wilman, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Barlow and Adrian Simpson |
Note: The timeslots for Series 45 varied, so not all episodes were broadcast consecutively each week.
Spin-offs
[edit]Top Gear Rally Report
[edit]Rally Report was a series of programmes broadcast by the BBC dedicated to broadcasting previews, highlights and reports of the Lombard RAC Rally of the United Kingdom, and latterly, the final round of the World Rally Championship. William Woollard presented in studio segments, whilst Sue Baker, or Tony Mason in later years, presented the location reports on the stages. There are sixty five episodes in all, produced between 1984 and 1998, including all specials, but excluding the preview of the 1995 RAC Rally, as the total episodes for that series is unknown.
| Series | Editions | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 6 | 24 November 1984 | 29 November 1984 |
| Series 2 | 1 | 30 November 1985 | |
| Series 3 | 1 | 20 November 1986 | |
| Series 4 | 1 | 26 November 1987 | |
| Series 5 | 1 | 26 November 1988 | |
| Series 6 | 1 | 23 November 1989 | |
| Series 7 | 1 | 12 May 1990 | |
| Series 8 | 8 | 21 November 1992 | 25 November 1992 |
| Series 9 | 1 | 1 January 1993 | |
| Series 10 | 8 | 20 November 1993 | 24 November 1993 |
| Series 11 | 1 | 23 December 1993 | |
| Series 12 | 9 | 19 November 1994 | 23 November 1994 |
| Series 13 | 1 | 26 December 1994 | |
| Series 14 | 1 | 17 November 1995 | 22 February 1996 |
| Series 15 | 7 | 19 November 1995 | 22 November 1995 |
| Series 16 | 1 | 25 December 1995 | |
| Series 17 | 5 | 22 November 1996 | 25 November 1996 |
| Series 18 | 1 | 9 January 1997 | |
| Series 19 | 5 | 22 November 1997 | 25 November 1997 |
| Series 20 | 1 | 31 December 1997 | |
| Series 21 | 4 | 21 November 1998 | 24 November 1998 |
| Series 22 | 1 | 20 December 1998 | |
Top Gear Motorsport
[edit]Top Gear Motorsport was a series of programmes broadcast by the BBC covering various forms of motorsport such as the World Rally Championship, the British Rally Championship, British Formula Three, Formula Renault and Formula Vauxhall Junior racing, as well as British Superbike and Eurocar challenges. Tiff Needell presented the show throughout the show's run. The programme was broadcast weekly on a Friday timeslot. The show was broadcast between 1994 and 1998, and ninety four episodes were produced in all, including specials.
| Series | Editions | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 1 | 10 November 1994 | |
| Series 2 | 9 | 24 March 1995 | 19 May 1995 |
| Series 3 | 15 | 27 October 1995 | 2 February 1996 |
| Series 4 | 1 | 20 December 1995 | |
| Series 5 | 12 | 5 April 1996 | 21 June 1996 |
| Series 6 | 8 | 30 September 1996 | 20 December 1996 |
| Series 7 | 2 | 10 March 1997 | 17 March 1997 |
| Series 8 | 11 | 31 March 1997 | 21 June 1997 |
| Series 9 | 10 | 29 August 1997 | 14 November 1997 |
| Series 10 | 25 | 6 April 1998 | 16 November 1998 |
Top Gear Take 2
[edit]Top Gear Take 2 was a series of programmes broadcast by the BBC looking back on previous segments of Top Gear over the years. Each programme ran for fifteen minutes on BBC Two, with repeats surfacing in 1997, on the then new UK Horizons. Presenters included Quentin Willson, Steve Berry, Jeremy Clarkson and Tiff Needell. The show was broadcast between 1992 and 1999, with fifty six episodes being produced.
| Series | Editions | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 5 | 23 July 1992 | 14 September 1992 |
| Series 2 | 11 | 6 January 1993 | 22 September 1993 |
| Series 3 | 6 | 8 January 1994 | 4 October 1994 |
| Series 4 | 10 | 31 May 1995 | 8 September 1995 |
| Series 5 | 4 | 17 January 1996 | 16 June 1996 |
| Series 6 | 1 | 31 July 1997 | 31 July 1997 |
| Series 7 | 8 | 13 July 1998 | 17 August 1998 |
| Series 8 | 11 | 1 February 1999 | 23 December 1999 |
Top Gear Waterworld
[edit]Top Gear Waterworld was a series of programmes broadcast by the BBC covering water based vehicles, and various activities related to them, such as Citroën 2CV river racing in Brittany, and how to ease traffic congestion in London by using water transport on the River Thames. The series was presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Tiff Needell and Julia Bradbury. The show was broadcast in 1998, with five episodes being produced.
| Series | Editions | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 5 | 20 July 1998 | 20 August 1998 |
Top Gear GTi
[edit]Top Gear GTi was a series of programmes broadcast by the BBC covering a variety of features such as car reviews, special features such as attending a driving school and motor shows. Essentially, GTi is an expansion on the main programme. The series was mainly presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson, although Steve Berry and Jason Bradbury appeared on the show at times. The show was the last of the spin off series' of Top Gear to be broadcast, airing between September 1999 and May 2001, with more than one hundred episodes in its name. Unlike any other spin off, Top Gear GTi was broadcast on a near daily timeslot on the UK Horizons channel.
| Series | Editions | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Unknown | September 1999 | December 1999 |
| Series 2 | Unknown | January 2000 | May 2000 |
| Series 3 | Unknown | September 2000 | December 2000 |
| Series 4 | Unknown | January 2001 | May 2001 |
Top Gear Specials
[edit]Various specials of Top Gear were produced during the show's initial run, each of them having a particular theme to the show.
| Title | Release Date | Featured |
|---|---|---|
| Top Gear Turns Back The Clock | 21 October 1980 | |
| Top Gear Special: A Ring Around London | 3 November 1982 | |
| Top Gear Special: Belt Up | 29 January 1983 | |
| Top Gear Special: Rust | 13 March 1984 | |
| Top Gear on the Grid | 3 June 1988 | |
| Top Gear Car of the Decade | 22 September 1988 | |
| Top Gear: Motor Show Special | 22 October 1992 | |
| Top Gear: Reverse Gear | 24 December 1992 | |
| Top Gear: Rolls-Royce Alpine Challenge | 20 December 1993 | |
| Top Gear: Christmas Special 1994 | 22 December 1994 | |
| Top Gear: Klausen Run | 5 January 1995 | |
| Top Gear: Classic and Sportscar Show | 7 May 1995 | |
| Top Gear: The Oh So Beautiful Bugatti | 1995 | |
| Top Gear Special: The Search for the Silver Arrow | 22 April 1996 | |
| Top Gear Live | 20 July 1996 | |
| Top Gear: London to Brighton | 19 December 1996 | |
| Top Gear Special: Ferrari – The Italian Legend | 1996 | |
| Top Gear Special: Aston Martin | 1997 | |
| Top Gear Live | 15 May 1997 | |
| Top Gear: The TVR Story | 22 December 1997 | |
| Top Gear Live | 23 May 1998 | First Time Live Broadcast on BBC Two |
| Top Gear: Blood, Salt and Tears – 100 Years of the Land Speed Record | 21 December 1998 | Evolution of Top Speed Car |
| Top Gear: Motor Show 1999 | 24 October 1999 | |
| Top Gear: 21 Years of Top Gear | 16 December 1999 | Looking Back for The Great Cars and Events in The Past 21 Years |
| Top Gear Awards | 10 February 2000 | Best & Worst Cars of 1999 |
| Top Gear Awards | 11 February 2001 | Best & Worst Cars of 2000 |
| Top Gear: Value Special | 26 July 2001 | Buying and Choosing the Right Car, Maintenance Works, Mythical Cars & Oil Price Hikes |
| Top Gear Awards | 4 February 2002 | Best & Worst Cars of 2001 |