James May claims he was dropped from hosting TV show due to 'wokeness'

James May has claimed he was sacked from a TV show due to 'wokeness'.

The former Top Gear presenter has been on our screens for the best part of two decades, with millions tuning into his various programmes.

One motoring show he fronted back in the day was called Driven, which he worked on alongside Mike Brewer and Jason Barlow.

However, May has said now that he was a victim of the 'early bit of wokeness' when he was axed from the series, with former British rally driver Penny Mallory taking his place.

Speaking on the Fuelling Around podcast, the 60-year-old recalled being informed his services were no longer required at the end of series one.

Channel 4

"After series on, this was an early bit of wokeness, they thought this programme was not quite right because they’ve got three white blokes that are all the same age," he said.

"They told me they needed to have a woman.

"They couldn’t really get rid of Mike Brewer because he had his other shows and he was very popular.

"They couldn’t really get rid of Jason because he was being groomed for greater things and was going to become the editor of CAR Magazine and all the rest of it.

"The only target left was me, so I was out of the door, and that was that really."

But the early disappointment doesn't appear to have hampered his career very much.

Since the late 90s, May has gone on to present the aforementioned Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, as well as its follow-up The Grand Tour, among a plethora of other series.

Amazon Prime

Over the past year or so, though, concerns have been raised over the future of the hit Amazon series following the backlash Clarkson received over his 'creepy' column about Meghan Markle.

And while May has assured fans more episodes are being made, when asked about the future, he admitted he can't say.

"No, well, I'm being perfectly honest with you because there's nothing to hide," the 60-year-old admitted.

"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."

He added: "It's not over but we're probably nearer the end than the beginning. God, I hope so, we don't want another 20 years of this."

Topics: UK News, Top Gear, James May, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, TV and Film

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom