Top Gear Audience - any advice?
Discussion
Out of the blue (I'd forgotten I'd even applied) I've bagged 2 x 'Priority Tickets' to see Top Gear being filmed next week.
They claim to guarantee entry before 12.30pm but I read some older posts that it can be a bit of a lottery as to if you get in or no despite turning up on time.
Does anybody have any advice they can share if they've been to any recent recordings? How does the day pan out etc?
Thanks in advance.
They claim to guarantee entry before 12.30pm but I read some older posts that it can be a bit of a lottery as to if you get in or no despite turning up on time.
Does anybody have any advice they can share if they've been to any recent recordings? How does the day pan out etc?
Thanks in advance.
We went last year and have tickets for next week. My advice is get there early and eat your lunch in the car when you are let in to the site. You will be held until they are ready for the audience, and expect lots of ‘hurry up and wait’ through the rest of the day. They seem to finish filming the main show around 18:00ish - and the next you can stay for extra gear if you have time.
Ed
Ed
DrSteveBrule said:
Out of the blue (I'd forgotten I'd even applied) I've bagged 2 x 'Priority Tickets' to see Top Gear being filmed next week.
They claim to guarantee entry before 12.30pm but I read some older posts that it can be a bit of a lottery as to if you get in or no despite turning up on time.
Does anybody have any advice they can share if they've been to any recent recordings? How does the day pan out etc?
Thanks in advance.
Get there earlier. We had tickets for Last Leg a few weeks ago - rushed down after work - they closed the doors two couples in front of us (think it's the same people - SROAudiences??)They claim to guarantee entry before 12.30pm but I read some older posts that it can be a bit of a lottery as to if you get in or no despite turning up on time.
Does anybody have any advice they can share if they've been to any recent recordings? How does the day pan out etc?
Thanks in advance.
They deliberately and unashamedly (it says so on the tickets) overbook, as they have an average no-show rate. If you're unlucky enough to be there on a week when no-shows lower than average..........
However, when we missed, they did say we would get an opportunity for "priority tickets", meaning guaranteed entry next time, so if you've genuinely got Priority Tickets.......?
Might be worth double-checking by email?
Edited by JonChalk on Monday 15th January 19:25
Europa1 said:
I've landed tickets as well. If anyone whose been reads this, would 11am be early enough to get there?
We went last March and got there around 11:30am. Didn't actually get into the studio until around 3:30pm due to various delays. You park up on a disused runway and they bus you over to the studio. As someone else said take a packed lunch and eat it in the car as you'll be hanging around for quite some time.I'm glad we did it but wouldn't bother again, however, I may do the Top Gear Extra as that's Covent Garden now and very easy to get to.
....funny that I wasn't in any!! 
Today was the day of filming for the first episode of the new series.
Nothing of any major interest to report back other than we came away feeling a bit sorry for Rory. If you've watched the show and got the impression that he is slightly extraneous then that feeling wouldn't have been quashed by being in the audience. The other two have a rapport and chemistry and unfortunately he doesn't seem to share it. Maybe it's down to experience and age, who knows?
He's a capable presenter and driver but he needs room to grow, away from the shadow of Harris and Le Blanc. Give him Extra Gear and if you must have a third person in the main show they could do a lot worse than Jensen Button.
Full disclosure; I am not a producer nor do I have the faintest idea about presenting or how hard it is to make a TV show.
Nothing of any major interest to report back other than we came away feeling a bit sorry for Rory. If you've watched the show and got the impression that he is slightly extraneous then that feeling wouldn't have been quashed by being in the audience. The other two have a rapport and chemistry and unfortunately he doesn't seem to share it. Maybe it's down to experience and age, who knows?
He's a capable presenter and driver but he needs room to grow, away from the shadow of Harris and Le Blanc. Give him Extra Gear and if you must have a third person in the main show they could do a lot worse than Jensen Button.
Full disclosure; I am not a producer nor do I have the faintest idea about presenting or how hard it is to make a TV show.
true storyWe were there as well and agree with the 2 posters above - Rory spent most of the afternoon watching proceedings from a gantry overlooking the set. That said, at the end of the day, he is a presenter on Top Gear, which is not a bad gig.
Other thoughts on the day:
- wear more comfortable shoes! My feet were killing me at the end of the day. My back was killing as well, but that's my fault for being an office based softie - it's not often I spend 5 hours standing up.
- drink loads of fluids beforehand. It was a long afternoon and both of us were gasping by the end.
- the studio is a lot smaller than it looks on TV!
- why do a small minority find it so hard to grasp the "no large branding/logos" on your clothing wording on the ticket? A couplf of blokes in big logo-ed hoodies, but especially tragic were eg a Ferrari rollneck. Ummmm, you're on Top Gear - I think we can guess you are a motoring enthusiast.
Other thoughts on the day:
- wear more comfortable shoes! My feet were killing me at the end of the day. My back was killing as well, but that's my fault for being an office based softie - it's not often I spend 5 hours standing up.
- drink loads of fluids beforehand. It was a long afternoon and both of us were gasping by the end.
- the studio is a lot smaller than it looks on TV!
- why do a small minority find it so hard to grasp the "no large branding/logos" on your clothing wording on the ticket? A couplf of blokes in big logo-ed hoodies, but especially tragic were eg a Ferrari rollneck. Ummmm, you're on Top Gear - I think we can guess you are a motoring enthusiast.
Europa1 said:
Other thoughts on the day:
- wear more comfortable shoes! My feet were killing me at the end of the day. My back was killing as well, but that's my fault for being an office based softie - it's not often I spend 5 hours standing up.
- drink loads of fluids beforehand. It was a long afternoon and both of us were gasping by the end.
- the studio is a lot smaller than it looks on TV!
- why do a small minority find it so hard to grasp the "no large branding/logos" on your clothing wording on the ticket? A couplf of blokes in big logo-ed hoodies, but especially tragic were eg a Ferrari rollneck. Ummmm, you're on Top Gear - I think we can guess you are a motoring enthusiast.
I didn't want to say anything but err.....yeah, the audience were, in what might appear to be a staggeringly ungrateful-for-a-free-ticket view, poorly looked after.- wear more comfortable shoes! My feet were killing me at the end of the day. My back was killing as well, but that's my fault for being an office based softie - it's not often I spend 5 hours standing up.
- drink loads of fluids beforehand. It was a long afternoon and both of us were gasping by the end.
- the studio is a lot smaller than it looks on TV!
- why do a small minority find it so hard to grasp the "no large branding/logos" on your clothing wording on the ticket? A couplf of blokes in big logo-ed hoodies, but especially tragic were eg a Ferrari rollneck. Ummmm, you're on Top Gear - I think we can guess you are a motoring enthusiast.
Five to six hours...no water, no toilets, no breaks at all.
Yes it's all about MLB and team, yes studio time is precious and yes I know the audience is essentially a walking talking set.
But really? Not even fifteen minutes after the first two hours? The only previous occasion I've been in the audience was in the CHM heyday, and there was a full 30 minute break for cast, audience and crew where everyone got to stretch their legs, have a brew and (if lucky) get a selfie with Jezzer.
I suspect the budget has been slashed and the producers now have to rely heavily on the "You're on Top Gear, what else d'you want?"
Oh, Mrs CFK did win a Kit Kat in the warm-up guy's TG quiz so it's not all bad.
DrSteveBrule said:
Without giving too much away about this episode, if Dr Stephen Hawkin was really as clever as he claims to be then he’d have used some of his math skills to work out the correct apex points etc. His lap time was shocking.
I can't believe what they're classing as a "reasonably fast car" for this series either.Crossflow Kid said:
DrSteveBrule said:
Without giving too much away about this episode, if Dr Stephen Hawkin was really as clever as he claims to be then he’d have used some of his math skills to work out the correct apex points etc. His lap time was shocking.
I can't believe what they're classing as a "reasonably fast car" for this series either.Europa1 said:
We were there as well and agree with the 2 posters above - Rory spent most of the afternoon watching proceedings from a gantry overlooking the set. That said, at the end of the day, he is a presenter on Top Gear, which is not a bad gig.
Do you see a similarity between him and Jason Dawes?Probably a nice, knowledgeable guy, but not confident enough in himself to put his hand up and say "Oi producers, Sod Harris and LeBlanc. Give ME that Ferrari road test!"
James May might be a softer personality that Clarkson and Hammond. But he's confident and comfortable in his abilities as a writer/journo/presenter so less likely to be moved out so easily. And hes indispensable in the CHM broadcasts. Whereas Reid could be missing and not everyone would notice.
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff