Top Gear to launch in France after Jeremy Clarkson banned from driving on roads
But the presenter will not be fronting the new French version next year
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Your support makes all the difference.A version of Top Gear is set to launch in France, despite Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond having previously been banned from the country’s roads.
But the British Top Gear hosts will not be drafted in to front the French version of the show, which is set to be made locally by BBC Worldwide France next year.
Clarkson and Hammond were pulled over for speeding while filming the programme’s Perfect Road Trip DVD last year, resulting in fines and a three month ban from driving in France.
French channel RMC Decouverte, which will broadcast the French version of the show, already airs the original UK Top Gear, delivering some of the channel’s highest ratings.
The Top Gear format has been sold to countries such as Australia, South Korea and the US, and a Chinese version will launch later this year.
Adam Waddell, the director of entertainment brands for BBC Worldwide, said: “The French have some amazing roads and incredible scenery which is why Top Gear UK has often filmed there.
”Now French petrol heads are going to have their own version of the programme and I have no doubt that the hosts will bring their own personality and sense of humour to the new show. I can't wait to watch it develop.“
BBC Worldwide France has produced other formats in the country including The Great Bake Off, The Weakest Link, Antiques Roadshow and Dancing With The Stars, the international version of Strictly Come Dancing.
With additional reporting from the Press Association.
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