James May was 'close to retirement' before confirming he's unlikely to work with Clarkson and Hammond again

James May says he's been 'close to retirement' and is unlikely to work with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond again.

The 61-year-old was, of course, a full-time presenter with Top Gear for over 10 years and has continued to be part of the iconic trio since 2016 with Grand Tour.

However, last year he candidly admitted that the Amazon Prime Video show was 'coming to an end'.

"Well, I'm being perfectly honest with you because there's nothing to hide," he said on the Fuelling Around podcast.

"We don't often think more than about a year in advance because let's face it, we're old so you can't.

"We've got another one about to come out, we've just filmed another one a few weeks ago and we've got another one planned to film later this year.

"What happens after that I don't know, it's a bit of a grey fog, it always is."

In terms of retiring all together, May explained how the death of a close friend was in also in his thinking.

James May says he's been 'close to retirement' and is unlikely to work with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond again. (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

"A very close friend of mine died a few weeks ago," he told the Radio Times last year.

"He retired early, because he’d always had this fear that his family isn’t very long-lived, and he wanted to swap possessions for experiences and knowledge."

"That’s what he started doing, but unfortunately he got cancer and it killed him.

"It was quite interesting thinking about that after he’d gone because it takes a certain amount of courage to say, 'No, I don’t want to telegraph my success and my sophistication.

"I simply want to have a nice life and contemplate the mystery and wonder of God’s creation'."

When asked if he’s considering selling his cars and retiring, he replied: "It’s something I’m quietly contemplating, and I suspect it’s not far off."

May with Top Gear and Grand Tour co-hosts Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson. (Vito Corleone/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Now, in a recent interview with UNILAD, May has revealed why he thinks he'll never work with his Grand Tour co-hosts ever again, even on a non-car program.

He said: "I think people would only really like us doing cars, despite what some people say - ‘Oh, I think you should all go off and do cooking or you should all go and do a podcast about nothing’.

“But I don’t think so, I think we should let it lie, what we did.”

On the idea of a reunion, May added: "I'm sure there will be something, but it won't be as big as [The Grand Tour] and I don’t need it to be. I’ve done that."