James May, known for his role on The Grand Tour, has openly discussed his decision to part ways with the Prime Video series, citing health concerns. This move comes after a harrowing 75mph crash in Norway. The 63-year-old former Top Gear host expressed that he wanted to step back before deteriorating health could affect his public image. Back in 2019, he remarked, “I’m beginning to experience nervous disorders and aches, and I don’t wish to continue if it means falling apart in the public eye.”
“Experiencing such a decline publicly would be undignified, and I doubt that’s something viewers want to witness,” May added.
In 2022, matters took a turn for the worse when the trio was filming for A Scandi Flick. During this segment, May’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII collided sideways with a tunnel wall at 75mph. Co-star Richard Hammond feared the worst, but May downplayed the incident by stating, “I could easily exaggerate, but honestly, it wasn’t as severe as it seems. Hammond has been in far more dramatic accidents.”
During the filming, May was immediately transported to the hospital via ambulance. Hammond later admitted, “We were genuinely worried, and I feared for my friend’s life.”
Fortunately, May emerged with a broken rib and was able to resume filming shortly after the incident.
It wasn’t the end of his brutal saga of accidents, though – in 2024, after the end of the Grand Tour, James was injured again, this time in a bike crash.
He was training for a charity bike ride near Hammersmith Bridge but “bust his wrist” in an accident. He admitted: “This sort of thing takes much longer to heal” due to his age.
In 2010 he lost consciousness while filming Top Gear – hitting his head on a rock and having to be taken to hospital for a brain scan after being diagnosed with concussion. He was given an IV drip and stitches for the head wound. James said there “was a lot of blood” at the time.
But the star “came closest to death” when he crashed his aeroplane after trying his best to land in a heavy crosswind.
“It was years after I’d started working on Top Gear that I was driving with a mate past an airfield and it had a sign saying: introductory flying lessons, 30 minutes for £120. He said: ‘Let’s stop and have one.’ Now I have my private pilot’s licence.”
In the same interview, James said he has “become flabby around his face and gut” in recent years, and sees himself as “quite an old man”. He tries to ride 10 miles a day on his bicycle after making a conscious effort to do more exercise.
Most recently, James clapped back at a troll who quizzed him about his “eye tics”, as he can often be seen scrunching his eyes while on camera. James has never spoken about it before, but when the X user branded it “annoying”, James broke his silence, quipping: “Don’t mock the afflicted.”