BBC Worldwide in Joint Venture for Top Gear Live

LONDON, March 13: BBC
Worldwide has entered into a joint venture initiative with the Ingenious-backed
company Brand Events to launch Top Gear Live, a live theatre version of its hit TV motoring
series Top Gear.

Under the new partnership,
Top Gear Live will be created
in partnership with Brand Events and will involve Jeremy Clarkson and members
of the production team. The live motoring performance will incorporate film and
theatre with stunts and special effects. Top Gear Live will debut this October as an integral part of the
successful MPH prestige and performance motor show that runs at London’s Earls
Court and Birmingham’s NEC (October 30 to November 2 and November 13 to 16,
respectively). BBC Worldwide plans to roll out Top Gear Live to 15 countries around the world within the next 18
months.

Top Gear currently broadcasts on 32 local channels globally,
not counting the BBC’s own channels.

Adam Waddell, the managing
director of Top Gear at BBC
Worldwide, said: “The Top Gear
program has a huge global following, our magazine is published in 22 countries
and we've recently announced the first two local productions of the TV show in
the U.S. and Australia—so taking Top Gear Live on tour is tremendously exciting and ties in
perfectly with our plans to reach out to audiences around the globe.”

—By Irene Lew