Internet speculation suggests the next series of Top Gear will return in March June 2009. What is not speculative, though, is news that Series 13 will be produced for less coin due to BBC budget cuts.
Speaking on his blog, Executive Producer Andy Wilman said, “next year we’re getting a budget cut. No point in moaning about that—all shows are suffering and nobody’s got a pot to piss in anymore anyway, so no reason why we shouldn’t suffer as well.”
“Our problem though is that there is no fat to trim off the show, in that we waste almost nothing behind the scenes and the old cliché of every penny goes on screen is actually true.
“So in 2009 the budget cut has to affect what you watch,” explains Wilman.
The cuts are estimated to be around thirty per cent, which would bring the costs down to around £140,000 per episode, based on current estimates. Perhaps they could start with trimming some fat off Jeremy Clarkson’s salary, believed to be in excess of £4M per year.
[Source: TopGear.com, Telegraph.co.uk and CarAdvice]
UPDATE 17 April: Top Gear, Series 13, will return on 21 June. [Source: finalgear.com]