General Chat

James May's Top Gear stunt 'set up'

DAVID BALE
04 December 2009 07:54



The BBC is facing a new fakery row after it was revealed one of Top Gear's most spectacular stunts - filmed over Norwich International Airport in October - was 'set up'.

Sunday's episode featured footage of presenter James May apparently flying an airship with a caravan beneath it across Britain.

Millions of fans watched as May, 46, appeared to stray accidentally over Norwich airport, provoking police to intervene.

But professionals involved in the stunt said that the scene had been 'set up'.

Steve O'Brian, of Sterling Helicopters, which is based at Norwich Airport and supplied the police helicopter, said that although May appeared to be piloting the airship alone, a professional took the wheel for the difficult manoeuvres.

“The whole event was set up,” he said. “It was completely scripted, there was no real emergency - we were hired to play along.”

Sterling Helicopters did not wish to comment further yesterday, but a BBC spokesman said: “As an entertainment programme, Top Gear prides itself on making silly films that don't pretend to represent real life. This was one of them. Any suggestion that it deliberately misled the viewer is patently ludicrous.”

As reported in October, the airship with May and the caravan hanging on underneath circled slowly for almost an hour above the airfield.

A spokeswoman for Norwich International Airport said it had signed an agreement with the BBC not to discuss the production.

Well it is an entertainment programme and it did entertain.

so what? I should think that the majority of adverts are faked or set-up.

What I would like to know is: what arrangements have been made with the military/airforce/government, when presenters of this, and similar shows go on flights in specialised aircraft ie RAF fighters, helicopters, and the like, trips to NASA etc and the use of tanks and weaponry, to destroy cars!!
Bob

they had that one where they were with the army
and they blew up stuff, and then the beach landing and the car got peppered with bullets,
its just excitement isnt it,
entertainment
a laugh,

i think some times welll most of the tiem, these watchdog types are just out to stop any laughter or jollity

All a load of hot air lol


What I found more interesting were the James May programmes about Airfix models, plasticine and such, the way they discussed the original things and then made larged-up models and the garden of plasticine were fascinating.
Wonder if the sale of Airfix models is up now, for Christmas.

Lizx

Of course it was "set up".

I doubt that May has an airship pilot's licence in the first place.
The airship/caravan combination probably hasn't got an airworthiness certificate.

Any pilot who did that sort of thing would be grounded pronto and probably lose their licence.

It's just entertainment, so accept it at that.

Nothing to do with this really but do you remember afew years ago? A man in America tied balloons to an armchair so he could float up and look over the fence at his neighbours.

He intended to shoot the balloons and come back down. Unfortunately it did not work and aircraft were reporting seeing him.

Don't know the outcome It is probably an urban legend anyway.

I think it was this year that an American priest did that and ended up drowning in the Atlantic.