The three co-hosts of the BBC’s widly popular television series Top Gear have spent time the past few days in the South Okanagan and West Kootenays filming their show, which attracts a worldwide audience of more than 350 million viewers per week. The show’s hosts include (from left) Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May. (Ellis O’Brien – BBC Worldwide)
The crew from one of the world’s most popular television shows is currently in British Columbia and the response from fanatical viewers has been overwhelming, says the commissioner of the Okanagan Film Commission.
The British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Top Gear had been filming in the South Okanagan and the West Kootenay over the weekend and for the most part kept their location a secret, in order to film undisturbed, said Jon Summerland.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May arrived last week and were filming an episode featuring the powerful Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV.
Their location and whereabouts will be kept secret to allow them to work without being interrupted, said Summerland.
Top Gear has been described as the most widely watched factual TV show in the world.
It began in 1977 as a motoring magazine show and was relaunched in 2002 in its current quirky style.
The program has received acclaim for its visual style and presentation and some criticism for its content and often politically incorrect commentary.
The response that Top Gear was coming to the South Okanagan and West Kootenays resulted in his phone ringing off the hook for days, said Summerland.
“The show has a fanatical fan base,” he said. “When I posted the fact the show was coming to our area on Facebook, we received more than 30,000 hits in a matter of hours.”
Top Gear is shown in dozens of countries around the world, including on BBC Canada, and has a weekly television audience of more than 350 million viewers, said Summerland.
“I’ve been doing this for seven years and been involved in a lot of films being shot in the Okanagan, but this is certainly one of the most surprising outcomes I’ve been involved with,” said Summerland. “People just love this show and I’m sure a lot of them would like to catch a glimpse of the crew, but we’ve been asked not to divulge where they are and what they’re doing so they can go about their work without being overwhelmed by fans of the show.”
Producers with Top Gear wanted to test the Hennessey VelociRaptor on a variety of terrains and had wanted to come to British Columbia for some time, so they contacted him and he made some recommendations about different locations they might be interested in, said Summerland.
It’s believed the hosts and crew will have to pass through Osoyoos at some time as Summerland confirmed they would be travelling from Manning Park and be heading along Highway 3 towards Castlegar.
“They’re going to go from Manning Park to Christina Lake,” he said. “Then they’re going to carry on to Castlegar.”
The producers of Top Gear contacted every film commission in British Columbia when they were looking for an appropriate location and he’s thrilled they decided to shoot in the Okanagan and West Kootenays, said Summerland.
Summerland said he is unable to provide further details on exact dates and locations at the request of the BBC production team.
The Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV is a large rally vehicle with an amazing 600 horsepower that will be tested in some very difficult terrain, he said.
Summerland said the worldwide exposure that will be gained through the Top Gear appearance would be amazing.
“There’s 350 million people who watch per episode,” he said. “This is awesome for the region as the show has such a massive worldwide audience.
“We will receive some amazing exposure as a result of the show coming here.”
Summerland noted this compares to the movie Go With Me starring Anthony Hopkins, now being filmed near Enderby and Lumby. The film’s location, however, is meant to be in Washington State.
Summerland said there has been no information released yet on when the episode featuring the Okanagan-Boundary area will be broadcast.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
