# Top Gear series 30

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Series of a 2002 British TV show

Season of television series

Top Gear Series 30 Starring Freddie Flintoff Chris Harris Paddy McGuinness The Stig No. of episodes 4 Release Original network BBC One Original release 14 March (2021-03-14) – 4 April 2021 (2021-04-04) Series chronology ← Previous Series 29 Next → Series 31 List of episodes

Series 30 of *[Top Gear](/source/Top_Gear_(2002_TV_series))*, a British motoring magazine and [factual television](/source/Factual_television) programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on [BBC One](/source/BBC_One) and [BBC One HD](/source/BBC_One_HD) during early 2021.[1] It was the fourth series to feature the presenting lineup of [Paddy McGuinness](/source/Paddy_McGuinness), [Freddie Flintoff](/source/Andrew_Flintoff) and [Chris Harris](/source/Chris_Harris_(journalist)) and the second to be broadcast on [BBC One](/source/BBC_One). As with the [previous series](/source/Top_Gear_series_29), the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic) affected production and filming of this series, with several changes made as a result; studio segments were filmed on an outdoor set with no full audience.

The series' highlights included the presenters taking a road trip across the [Lake District](/source/Lake_District) in their dads' cars, driving some of the cars from the [*James Bond*](/source/James_Bond) franchise, and a challenge involving cars for a midlife crisis.

## Production

On 28 February 2021, it was announced that, due to [restrictions](/source/The_Health_Protection_(Coronavirus%2C_Restrictions)_(All_Tiers)_(England)_Regulations_2020) as a result of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic), filming of the studio links for the thirtieth series would not be taking place at its usual location at [Dunsfold Aerodrome](/source/Dunsfold_Aerodrome), and there would not be a studio audience present; the number of episodes in the series was also reduced to four.[2] Instead, the links for the show were recorded during a two-night shoot outside [Television Centre, London](/source/Television_Centre%2C_London) with no full audience present.[nb 1][3] Unlike during [the previous series](/source/Top_Gear_series_29), the presenters and crew members did not need to be physically distanced during filming as they were "bubbled" and tested during filming.[4]

## Episodes

Main article: [List of Top Gear (2002 TV series) episodes](/source/List_of_Top_Gear_(2002_TV_series)_episodes)

No. overall No. in series Reviews Features/challenges Original release date UK viewers (millions) [5] 221 1 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 Second-Hand Dad's Cars in the Lake District (Ford Cortina • BMW 3 Series • Ford Fiesta) 14 March 2021 (2021-03-14) 6.33 222 2 Ferrari Roma • Alfaholics GTA-R Budget James Bond Cars (Sunbeam Alpine • Alfa Romeo GTV6 • Renault 5 1/2 • Lotus Esprit • Toyota 2000GT • Aston Martin DB5) • Spark ODYSSEY 21 vs. Jet Pack Man 21 March 2021 (2021-03-21) 7.03 Note: This episode was posthumously dedicated to former presenter Sabine Schmitz, who died from cancer on 16 March 2021. 223 3 None Off-Roaders in the Scottish Highlands (Ariel Nomad R • Land Rover Defender • Mercedes-AMG G63) 28 March 2021 (2021-03-28) 6.30 224 4 Toyota GR Yaris Second-Hand Sports Cars for a Midlife crisis (TVR Chimaera • Vauxhall Monaro • Ferrari F355/Toyota MR2 Kit car) 4 April 2021 (2021-04-04) 6.00

## A Tribute To Sabine Schmitz

Former presenter [Sabine Schmitz](/source/Sabine_Schmitz) died from cancer on 16 March 2021, two days after the first episode of the series was aired; following the broadcast of the final episode of the series on 4 April 2021, a special tribute to her was made available on [BBC iPlayer](/source/BBC_iPlayer). The tribute, which was shown on BBC One on 7 April 2021 and features clips from Schmitz's appearances on *Top Gear*, was narrated by [Zoe Ball](/source/Zoe_Ball) and contains contributions from some of the current and former presenters of the show (these are [Jeremy Clarkson](/source/Jeremy_Clarkson), [Richard Hammond](/source/Richard_Hammond), [James May](/source/James_May), [Matt LeBlanc](/source/Matt_LeBlanc), [Rory Reid](/source/Rory_Reid_(journalist)), [Chris Harris](/source/Chris_Harris_(journalist)), [Paddy McGuinness](/source/Paddy_McGuinness), and [Freddie Flintoff](/source/Andrew_Flintoff)), as well as several other figures from the world of motorsport.[6]

No. overall No. in series Title Original release date UK viewers (millions) [5] Special Special Top Gear: A Tribute To Sabine Schmitz 7 April 2021 (2021-04-07) 3.57

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Filming took place in front of production staff and the residents of the flats above Television Centre, as explained at the start of the first episode.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Top Gear Series 30 Air Date"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000t95hg). BBC. 14 March 2021.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Top Gear season 30 trailer is out, and we sit down with the presenters"](https://www.autoblog.com/2021/03/08/top-gear-season-30-preview/). 8 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Top Gear series 30: Why new season isn't using Dunsfold Aerodrome track"](https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/top-gear-series-30-new-20139269). Get Surrey. 13 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Top Gear viewers stunned by Freddie Flintoff's surprising hair transformation"](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a35832377/top-gear-freddie-flintoff-hair-transformation/). Digital Spy. 14 March 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BARB12-30_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BARB12-30_6-1) ["Four-screen dashboard"](https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/four-screen-dashboard/). [Broadcasters' Audience Research Board](/source/Broadcasters'_Audience_Research_Board). Retrieved 5 March 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Top Gear: A Tribute To Sabine Schmitz to debut this Sunday following series finale"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/bbcstudios/2021/top-gear-a-tribute-to-sabine-schmitz-to-debut-this-sunday-following-series-finale). *BBC Media Center*. Retrieved 3 April 2021.

## External links

- [Series 30](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628033/episodes?season=30) at the [Internet Movie Database](/source/Internet_Movie_Database)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Top Gear series 30](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_series_30) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_series_30?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.