Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond have officially concluded their professional television partnership after 23 years, with their joint production company W. Chump & Sons formally wound down in September 2025, according to Companies House filings.
The trio—known for hosting BBC’s Top Gear and Amazon Prime Video’s The Grand Tour—filed dissolution documents for W. Chump & Sons on July 11, 2024, ahead of The Grand Tour’s final episode, which aired on September 13, 2024. The company, which also included producer Andy Wilman, closed with £24,087,100 on its balance sheet, leaving each shareholder approximately £6 million.
The partnership began in 2002 when Clarkson, May, and Hammond joined the revived Top Gear lineup. After Clarkson was dismissed from the BBC in 2015 following an off-air incident, the three reunited to establish W. Chump & Sons and signed with Amazon Prime Video to create The Grand Tour, which premiered in 2016 and ran for six series.
The final Grand Tour special, titled “One for the Road,” was filmed in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Clarkson explained his decision to end the partnership in an interview with The Times, stating he had become “too old and fat” to get into the cars he liked and was “not interested” in driving the cars he didn’t. He described the final scenes as “emotional” to film, noting that the ending was important because it allowed their 22-year working relationship to conclude without “disintegrating in a blizzard of outrage and tabloid headlines,” but instead being “landed safely and gently.”
Since the partnership’s end, each presenter has pursued separate ventures. Clarkson has focused on Clarkson’s Farm, his agricultural reality series for Prime Video, which has been renewed for additional seasons. May launched a travel series called James May’s Great Explorers for Channel 5, while Hammond hosts Richard Hammond’s Workshop for Discovery+, a classic car restoration programme.
Sources
- The Independent — Reported the formal winding down of W. Chump & Sons with £24,087,100 on the books and the 23-year partnership conclusion, dated September 3, 2025
- Oxford Mail — Confirmed the July 11, 2024 dissolution filing and the trio’s individual post-partnership projects, dated July 17, 2026
- The Sun — Verified the partnership officially ended after 23 years and the company closure, dated September 3, 2025
- Variety — Reported The Grand Tour finale aired September 13, 2024, filmed in Zimbabwe, dated August 22, 2024
