Fifth Gear

This article is about the British TV show Fifth Gear. For the Brad Paisley album, see 5th Gear (album). For the 1989 computer game, see 5th Gear (video game).

Fifth Gear
Former titlecard from 2005 to 2016
Also known as5th Gear (2002–05)
Fifth Gear Recharged (2021–)
GenreMotoring
Directed byPhil Hawkins
Presented byTiff Needell
Vicki Butler-Henderson
Tim Shaw
Tom Ford
Adrian Simpson
Quentin Willson
Jason Plato
Jonny Smith
Jon Bentley
Rory Reid
Sid North
Grace Webb
Jimmy de Ville
Karun Chandhok
Theme music composerJohn F Calone
Opening theme"Prize Fight"
ComposerDavid Lowe
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series28
No. of episodes265 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerRichard Pearson
ProducerJim McMullan
Production locationsAce Cafe (2006–08)
Millbrook Proving Ground (2008–09)
Various (2010–15)
EditorsMike Bloore
Mike Brown
Martin Dowell
James Hay
Steve Killick
Leigh Nicholls
Tony Quinsee-Jover
Peter Shannon
Running time30 minutes (2002–05, 2010–11)
45 minutes (2005)
60 minutes (2006–09, 2012–15, 2018–)
Production companyNorth One
Original release
NetworkChannel 5 (2002–11)
Discovery (2012–14)
History (2015)
Quest (2018–)
Release8 April 2002 (2002-04-08) –
present
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Fifth Gear is a British motoring television magazine series which has been broadcast since 2002. Originally shown on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011 (and branded as 5th Gear until 2005), it began as a continuation of the original version of the BBC show Top Gear, which ran from 1977 until being cancelled in 2001. It moved to the Discovery Channel in 2012, then in 2015 to History;[1] since 2018 it has been broadcast on Quest. Following a 2021 relaunch, with an emphasis on electric cars, it has been branded as Fifth Gear Recharged.[2][3] The show is currently presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson, Sid North,[4] Karun Chandhok[5] and Jason Plato[6] with Grace Webb and engineer Jimmy de Ville also involved in reports. Its former presenters include Quentin Willson, Adrian Simpson, Rory Reid,[7] Jonny Smith, former racing driver Tiff Needell and Car SOS host Tim Shaw.

Fifth Gear was first broadcast on 8 April 2002, featuring the same format and many of the same presenters, including Willson, Needell, Butler-Henderson and Simpson, as the BBC's Top Gear.[8][9][10] Channel 5 originally wanted to carry on using the Top Gear name, but the BBC refused as it still operated the Top Gear magazine; the BBC relaunched Top Gear with a drastically revised format later in 2002, placing a strong focus on comedy and general entertainment.[11] Fifth Gear has been referenced in Top Gear, such as when a barn fire damaged Top Gear property, host Jeremy Clarkson satirically claimed that Fifth Gear had "burned our furniture."[12]

Needell announced Fifth Gear's cancellation on 24 May 2016.[13] On 14 June 2018, Needell announced on his official Twitter account that he had been doing some filming work for a new series of Fifth Gear which aired in September 2018 on Quest,[14][15] but by 2019 had left the show to join Lovecars.com and their ITV4 programme On the Road.[16][17][18]

Repeats of Fifth Gear also started being broadcast on UKTV channel Dave in April 2008 and later on Discovery Turbo, with early episodes of the show being streamed '24/7' via the British feed of Pluto TV in 2019.[19]

  1. ^ "Fifth Gear Finds New Home". Broadcast Now. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  2. ^ "'Fifth Gear' to Relaunch as Electric Vehicle Format; Signs Former 'Top Gear' Host Rory Reid". 13 October 2021.
  3. ^ "North One amps up Fifth Gear Recharged for Discovery". 13 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Sid North's day with the insane 1,180bhp Ariel Hipercar | Fifth Gear by Fifth Gear | AllCarVideos.net, all your favorite youtube channels in one page!".
  5. ^ "New Fifth Gear TV show to focus on electric cars". 14 October 2021.
  6. ^ Karr, Anthony. "Fifth Gear Will Be Back In September". Motor1.com. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Fifth Gear to Rebrand into Electic [sic] Motoring Series". 14 October 2021.
  8. ^ Gallagher, William (9 April 2002). "Top Gear finds a new home". BBC News Online.
  9. ^ Timms, Dominic (15 November 2001). "Top Gear drives over to C5". Broadcast. Emap Media.
  10. ^ "Top Gear team switch lanes". BBC News Online. 15 November 2001.
  11. ^ "Top Gear Versus Fifth Gear: Which British Car Show Is Better? — EDEDITION.com". www.ededition.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Top Gear burns! Props destroyed". Autoblog. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Tiff Needell's "Fifth Gear" Has Been Cancelled". Road & Track. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Yes, after a three year break we're back". 14 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Fifth Gear will return to TV in September". 13 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Discovery announces new series of Fifth Gear on Quest". 9 September 2019.
  17. ^ "On the Road - S1 - Episode 2". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  18. ^ "On the Road - S1 - Episode 3". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  19. ^ "ALL CHANNELS | Pluto TV | Watch Free TV". www.eu-landing.corp.pluto.tv. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019.