James May addresses whether original trio will return to rescue Top Gear

Following the news that Top Gear has been put into hiatus for the 'foreseeable future', fans of the show have been desperate for a solution to save it.

And focus has obviously fallen on the trusty trio who made the programme a household name - James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.

Now, a host of fans believe that the return of the iconic presenters is the only way to rescue Top Gear from being 'rested' permanently.

The BBC announced that the motoring show was being put on pause following Freddie Flintoff's horror crash last December.

Production was halted after the former England cricket captain was injured at the test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, with the BBC saying it would be 'inappropriate' to continue.

And yesterday, the broadcaster announced (21 November) that these 'exceptional circumstances' had made them decide to 'rest' the show for the 'foreseeable future'.

But for those thinking that May might ride in on a white horse with his two co-stars in tow to save Top Gear, you would be sadly mistaken.

The 60-year-old already hosts Amazon Prime's The Grand Tour with Clarkson and Hammond, so they aren't exactly looking to volunteer.

Amazon Prime

And May also believes Top Gear's entire format needs 'a rethink', suggesting that it has been stagnant since the trio left in 2015.

He told the BBC's Today podcast: "Okay, I can say this now. It does need a bit of a rethink.

"It's time for a new format and a new approach to the subject, because the subject has not been this interesting, I suspect, since the car was invented.

"It would be a shame if an organisation like the BBC didn't have something to say about it."

Adding: "Top Gear since the three of us left has followed a very similar format and framework to the way we left it.

"But I mean we're getting quite old - and we already do that. There's another way, I'm not saying I know what it is, but there must be one.

Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

"There must be another way of doing a show about cars that will perhaps embrace more fulsomely many of the questions that are being asked of cars now that weren't asked for a long time."

In a preview clip of the podcast, which will be released in full on Thursday (23 November), May also hit out at fans, who he dubbed the 'car show-erati', asking them to return.

He added: "It did annoy me a bit because there were a lot of people saying, ‘They’ve done that wrong and now you can come back and rescue it'.

"I was just thinking, ‘The bloke has hurt himself very badly in a life-changing way and you could perhaps not use it as an opportunity to be partisan’.

"You could perhaps say, ‘Rotten bit of luck, get well soon’."