Former Top Gear stars James May and Richard Hammond shared a nostalgic trip together with fans as they reunited to visit the set of the BBC show they fronted for years, with the latter shutting down his friend and co-star when he almost divulged a secret.
Jeremy Clarkson and Hammond featured in the series from 2002, with May joining the following year. The popular trio left the show in 2015 and hadn’t returned to the set since.
The car enthusiasts didn’t leave their passion behind, launching Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour soon after.
However, May, 62, shared the special moment he and Hammond, 55, took a trip down memory lane when he posted a video to his YouTube Channel, James May’s Planet Gin, on Wednesday.
Titled “Hammond & May FINALLY Return to Top Gear HQ,” the two men explored their former workplace, showcasing their former behind-the-scenes environment to fans.
While they joked the site had been “horrific,” the duo were immediately hit by a wave of nostalgia as they walked through the different rooms.
As they explored the set, the two recalled memories from each area. At one point, May recalled how the studio audience used to catch glimpses of the group.
“Quite often we’d go down those steps to go to the studio – they’d all be waiting in there,” he remembered.
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“Actually, what we used to do was come out here or to the windows in the next bit and watch the queue going in and decide whether or not we liked the look of them.”
Reminiscing on where everything used to be, Hammond commented: “Makeup, that must have been. Oh God, Michelle’s room, yeah.
“It must have been here, there must’ve been another partition or something.”
“So we’d turn left, then there was a room on the right, and that’s where you went,” May added as the pair brought each room to life with their recollections.
Turning into a different part of the set, Hammond enthused: “Oh God, I remember this bit – this is Michelle’s makeup room.”
He went on: “And we always had to have it done here when the audience could see us.
“And it was like ‘Ha, you’ve got make up on.’ Well yeah, I’m going under the studio lights, you have to!”
Touching on what was clearly a shared secret between the trio, May remarked: “And we used to… I don’t know if we can talk about this.” Turning to Hammond, he noted: “We used to play that game.”
Laughing loudly at the memory, Hammond made clear the story probably shouldn’t leave the four walls they stood in.
“Yes!” He responded before deciding: “No… no, you can’t [talk about it].”
“We won’t talk about that,” May agreed after being shut down by his former co-star, leaving some mystery with the set.
While the pair didn’t give anything away about the mystery “game,” it became clear they were both touched by the visit.
Hammond pondered: “It seems like only yesterday…but also a hundred years ago,” before noting: “This is more nostalgic than going back to your old school.”
