23 Years, One Company, Zero Regrets: Clarkson, Hammond And May’s Partnership Officially Comes To An End
It’s official — really, truly official this time. The company behind The Grand Tour, W. Chump & Sons, has now been formally wound down, closing the book on one of British television’s most beloved partnerships: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Filings confirm the trio’s joint production company, which also included longtime producer Andy Wilman, filed for dissolution back in 2024 ahead of the finale, and has now completed the process, closing with just over £24 million on the books — split roughly £6 million a piece. It’s a tidy, businesslike ending to a partnership that began in 2002, when Clarkson and Hammond first appeared together on the revived Top Gear, with May joining a year later.
For 22 years, the three of them turned car reviews into something closer to a national institution — first on the BBC, then on Amazon Prime Video after their dramatic exit from Top Gear in 2015. When The Grand Tour wrapped with the special “One for the Road,” filmed across Zimbabwe and Botswana, Clarkson explained the decision came down to something simple: after 36 years of talking about cars on television, he felt he’d aged out of the cars he loved and lost interest in the ones he hadn’t. He was blunt about it — no scandal, no falling out, just three men choosing to end things on their own terms.
But if you think that’s the last we’ve seen of the trio together, think again. Months after the “end,” Amazon quietly confirmed a new project — a motoring documentary series reuniting all three. And more recently, Richard Hammond even popped up in an episode of Clarkson’s Farm, roped in to help with the new pub, in what was the first time viewers had seen him and Clarkson on screen together since The Grand Tour ended.
So maybe it’s not really “goodbye.” Maybe it’s just what 22 years of friendship looks like when it stops being a job and starts being something the three of them do simply because they still enjoy each other’s company.
Either way, the paperwork says it’s over. The chemistry clearly disagrees.
