Fifth Gear


Fifth Gear is a British motoring television magazine series which has been broadcast since 2002. Originally shown on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, it began as a continuation of the original version of the BBC show Top Gear, which ran from 1977 until being cancelled in 2001. It moved to the Discovery Channel in 2012, then in 2015 to History; since 2018 it has been broadcast on Quest. The show is currently presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson and Jason Plato, with Rory Reid, Grace Webb and Jimmy de Ville featuring in some episodes. Its former presenters include Quentin Willson, Adrian Simpson, Jonny Smith, former racing driver Tiff Needell and Car SOS host Tim Shaw.

History

Fifth Gear was first broadcast on 8 April 2002, featuring the same format and many of the same presenters, including Willson, Needell, Butler-Henderson and Simpson, as the BBC's Top Gear. Channel 5 originally wanted to carry on using the Top Gear name, but the BBC refused as it still operated the Top Gear magazine; the BBC relaunched Top Gear with a drastically revised format later in 2002, placing a strong focus on comedy and general entertainment. Fifth Gear has been referenced in Top Gear, such as when a barn fire damaged Top Gear property, host Jeremy Clarkson satirically claimed that Fifth Gear had "burned our furniture."
Needell announced Fifth Gear's cancellation on 24 May 2016. On 14 June 2018, Needell announced on his official Twitter account that he had been doing some filming work for a new series of Fifth Gear which aired in September 2018 on Quest, but by 2019 had left the show to join Lovecars.com and their ITV4 programme On the Road.
Following a 2021 relaunch, with an emphasis on electric cars, it was rebranded as Fifth Gear Recharged. Fifth Gear Recharged was presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson, Sid North, Karun Chandhok and Jason Plato with Grace Webb and engineer Jimmy de Ville also involved in reports.
In 2024, North One scrapped the all-EV format, with the programme reverting to being Fifth Gear and with Rory Reid rejoining the presenting line-up.
Repeats of Fifth Gear also started being broadcast on UKTV channel Dave in April 2008 and later on Discovery Turbo, with early episodes of the show being streamed '24/7' via the British feed of Pluto TV in 2019.

Format

The first seven series consisted of a 23-minute programme, not including approximately seven minutes of adverts. The eighth series returned in the autumn of 2005 in a longer format of 45 minutes, and the ninth series was increased to a one-hour airtime slot. For series 17, the show had reverted to the original format of 23 minutes, which including adverts takes the show to half an hour. In Series 21, the show reverted to the previous one-hour airtime slot.

Locations

At the start of series 10, the show introduced between-feature links filmed at the Ace Cafe in London. In previous series, these links were filmed at the production company offices in Birmingham. Originally produced by Chrysalis Television, the Birmingham offices were situated on the top floor of the headquarters of 100.7 Heart FM, near Birmingham's Five Ways area. The team moved out when Chrysalis sold its television division to All3Media in September 2003.
In series 14, a location change from the Ace Cafe meant link sequences were filmed instead at the Millbrook Proving Ground, along with some of the vehicle testing features.

Presenter line-up

  • Vicki Butler-Henderson
  • Jason Plato
  • Rory Reid
  • Grace Webb
  • Jimmy de Ville

    Former presenters

  • Tiff Needell
  • Tom Ford
  • Adrian Simpson
  • Quentin Willson
  • Jonny Smith
  • Karun Chandhok
  • Sid North

    Short-lived stints

In 2005, the show's producer, Jon Bentley, also became a part-time presenter for a year before he went back to being solely the producer. Tim Lovejoy was hired in September 2006 for series 9 and 10. In August 2008, Tim Shaw became a presenter on the show for series 14. In October 2010, Ben Collins, formerly The Stig on BBC's Top Gear, came to Fifth Gear for series 18. Sid North, joined the presenting line-up for the all-electric Fifth Gear Recharged format in 2023, but was replaced by a returning Rory Reid in 2024.

Shoot-outs

Fifth Gear claimed to be 'world renowned' for its 'infamous' shoot-outs, between similarly priced, similarly powerful cars, or, recently, cars versus bikes. These shoot outs took place at the Anglesey Circuit on the Isle of Anglesey close to Aberffraw. During the refurbishment of Anglesey, shoot-outs were switched to Castle Combe Circuit.

2002 (Series 1 and 2)