Why You Should Read 'And On That Bombshell: Inside The Madness And Genius Of Top Gear'

I’ve just finished reading a book about Top Gear. The man who wrote the book, Richard Porter, worked on the programme as script editor for no fewer than 13 years, 22 series and 175 shows, so he knows a thing or two about the inner workings of the world’s best-loved car show. And thanks to his words, so now do I.

So what’s the book like?

What the Top Gear team achieved was nothing short of genius because of the way that it entertained everybody most of the time. Sure, there were duff features and times when we all thought that the show had lost its way, but it kept me, you, and your significant other coming back to BBC2/BitTorrent week after week. And while much of the credit has always gone to the Three Idiots (especially Clarkson and his insatiable drive to make the show better), it’s refreshing to learn about the worker bees behind the scenes who helped shape the show that we loved so much.

In the book, you’ll find out about the very early days, including failed show formats, how Richard Hammond was close to being kicked off the show and the not-so-mysterious French Stig.

The Top Gear dog also gets its own chapter, as does the heart-wrenching account of what the Top Gear family went through when Richard Hammond crashed a jet-powered car and very nearly lost his life.

Of course, Top Gear was always surrounded in controversy, be it number plate scandals, eeny, meeny, miny, moe, or flippant discussions about slopes, and these are topics that this book does not shy away from. Nor does Porter hold back when discussing his feelings towards Clarkson after you know what:

‘After handing himself in, Jeremy came to the Top Gear office to apologise to the team. He didn’t sit down or even take his jacket off. He just told us he’d made a confession to management and that he was sorry to all of us. With that, he left the office for what would be the very last time. I was furious. Properly, knee-jigglingly, teeth-grindingly furious. His apology seemed half-hearted and feeble, like a child saying the word sorry because they know it’s what the adults want to hear, rather than a sincere reflection of remorse.’

But for me, the most interesting chapter isn’t the one focussed on what the men were really like away from the cameras, it was the poignant chapter on a stricken hero of mine, Michael Schumacher (aka ‘Stigmacher’). Porter’s words about Schuey gave me a strange kind of comfort that I hope you’ll share.

Because this book was written by the man behind the ‘Some say…’ gags, And On That Bombshell: Inside The Madness And Genius Of Top Gear is witty, well written, full of great anecdotes and plenty of swearing. There are cool behind-the-scenes pics in there too and a chapter titled The Bollocks Hour; if there’s only one reason you need to read this book, then let this be it.

To pick up your copy, hit this link.