Top Gear (2002–…): Season 31, Episode 1 - Episode #31.1 - full transcript

APPLAUSE

Hello! Welcome to Top Gear.

We are back!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Love it.

And we are still here
at BBC Television Centre,

and I've got to say, boys,
it's good to be here.

The history of this place,
the shows that have been made here,

and there's a lovely Greggs
on the corner down there. Fantastic.

Oh, love a steak bake.
Love one. Love one.

We've got a cracking series
coming up.



So much good stuff.

Supercars, paint bombs,
spicy chillies.

And his face when he saw that
sheep brains pate,

and when you ran him over
with the big ball.

Yeah, but listen,
this is all well and good,

but no-one's got a clue
what we're talking about.

Do you want to see a sizzle?

CHEERING

Roll the VT.

Right, I'll...

BLEEP

HE LAUGHS

You going to go for a habanero?

Get it in you, Flintoff.



I'm in trouble.

SHOUTING

I think I've pulled something.

Go on, Jeff.

Oh, that's a good shot, Jeff!
Go on, Jeff, hit it.

Oh, now we're moving!

LAUGHTER

I can see the head!

Whoa!

That's very liquid!

Now this is my kind of day.

You're milking it, half-pint!
You're milking it!

APPLAUSE

Exciting! That's all to come.

But what are we kicking things off
with tonight, Fred?

It's a good one, Pad.

Track specials, sports cars made
even faster, even sharper,

to make you feel like a hero
around the race circuit.

And since pretty much, well,
forever, the best of the bunch

has been this, the Porsche 911 GT3.

Here's the new one. And surprise,
surprise, it is brilliant.

It really is. It's a beauty,

but there's some serious opposition
out there

who are going to give this little
rascal a run for its money.

So the three of us
went to try some of them out.

First onto the grid is the
Aston Martin Vantage F1 edition.

It's based on the latest Formula 1
safety car,

which, for a road-going
track special,

is a pretty good place to start.

But beneath the fancy paint job
and big wing,

what this is really is the car
the Vantage should always have been.

Now, the V8 Vantage
has been around a while.

I drove it on the show a couple
of years ago, and it was good.

But it wasn't this good.

They've done everything possible
to turn a decent sports car

into a track monster -
more downforce, more power,

more everything.

The twin turbo V8 has been upgraded
to produce 527 horsepower,

so it'll now get to 60
in just 3.5 seconds.

And to make sure you can use
that extra shove,

they've gone to town on the chassis
too.

It's got stiffer bump stops,
more negative camber,

and increased compression damping.

Now, I don't know what all that
means, but what I will tell you,

it helps me do this.

TYRES SCREECH

Oh, yeah!

This is a day out.

Yee-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Never mind the old Vantage,
thing of the past.

You want the F1 edition.

All right,
the sat nav's still rubbish,

but a good thing about this car is

you're having so much fun,
you don't even notice.

And you're basically driving
the only car

Lewis Hamilton can't overtake.

Who knew safety
could be so much fun?

Very nice.

But for my money,
not quite as nice as this.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm.

op-of-the-rangeBased on the already
brilliant, top of the range Giulia
Quadrifoglio,

thanks to a whole load of
performance enhancing upgrades,

this is now
a completely different animal.

HE LAUGHS

0-60, this thing,
in less than four seconds,

and it's a four-door saloon.

There we go!

Alfa's F1 team even had a hand in
making sure it goes round a track

like it should

And it definitely does.

And that's because they didn't stop
at the upgraded twin turbo V6

that now makes over 530 horsepower.

They also went to town stripping out
every bit of weight they could find.

It's got a titanium exhaust,
polycarbonate windows, and

inside there's aluminium and carbon
fibre as far as the eye can see,

They've even taken the rear seats
out the back.

It's proper geeky
Chris Harris stuff.

The point is this four-door saloon
is now quite simply

the most extreme Alfa road car
in decades.

Whoaaaa!

There we go! We've got it back.

Get on that.

It really does feel special, this -
the steering, the brakes.

You just think it, it does it.

And all that aside...

..just look at it.

It's the Giulia, but beefed up.

It takes your breath away, this car!

Oh, Paddy!

Wow.

I'm clapping the car,
not the driving.

Oooh! I don't mind.

I think I've got a bit of car envy,
though.

I'm seriously thinking of
proposing to this car.

I love it.

It's crass, it's in your face,
but it's brilliant.

It's absolutely amazing.
Look at it!

155 grand. How much?

155 grand?
Yeah.

Maybe I've not got car envy.

Go on. 155 grand for an Alfa?

What's yours?
150.

Not much difference.

The Aston's cheaper than the Alfa.

Well, you've got to remember Fred,
these are rare cars.

You turn up to a track day
in these,

people come out of the woodwork.

They want to talk to you. No, but
Paddy, you don't want them to.

They'll come out of the woodwork,
it'll be tyre compound,

it's about the springs, mate,
you don't want to talk to them.

Just want to drive it, enjoy it.

Speaking of tyre compounds,
where is Chris Harris?

Skidding around somewhere.
You know what he's like.

Now that is completely and utterly
correct.

Have some of that!

Come on!

Oh!

Look, put simply, for the money,

you can't beat a Porsche 911 GT3
as a track special.

If you want to better it,

you've got to go up a price bracket
or two.

Or three.

Meet the reassuringly expensive,
reassuringly outrageous

McLaren 765LT.

With over 750 horsepower
and a top speed north of 200mph,

this isn't just one of the very
fastest cars McLaren has ever made.

It's also one of the most intense.

This isn't some friendly

"Let me help you with that skid,
sir" supercar.

This thing is spiky.

You really are on your own.

But that just adds
to the sense of...

TYRES SCREECH

Whoa-oh-oh!

..excitement!

What a monster.

Track day specials are not meant
to be relaxing and kind,

they're supposed to keep you right
on your toes, and this thing,

boy, does it do that.

And that's because the 765LT sees
all of McLaren's racing pedigree

distilled into one
very potent cocktail.

Apart from the uprated
ceramic brakes, titanium exhaust,

active rear wing,
and acres of carbon fibre,

the 765 is now lighter
and more powerful

than the already lightning-quick
720S it's based on.

And what this all adds up to
is a car that is shockingly fast.

Too fast for the road?

I'd say so.

To really get close
to what it's capable of,

you've got to be on a circuit.

And you'd better bring your A-game,

and probably a spare pair
of boxer shorts.

Good Lord!

Oh!

Yes, boys.

Don't tell him,
that was pretty good.

All right, lads?

Now this is my kind of day - proper
geeky track day specials.

Look at that!
There's a bit of you in it, this.

Oh!
How much?

280 grand.
Ooh!

Because to beat a GT3 Porsche,
you've got to spend 280 grand.

Yeah, but with you, there's always
a few extras, ain't there?

400.

£400,000?

That's more than a few extras, that.
400 grand?!

It looks like a £400,000 car!
Look at it!

For 400 grand, you could buy both of
these and still have enough over

to get yourself
some decent T-shirts.

Right, £400,000,
let's see what that'll buy you.

Time for a drag race.

A drag race? Totally irrelevant.

I know, but bit of fun, innit?

Bit of fun!

So, gentlemen, basic drag race,

and Chris, if by the time
me and Fred get up there,

you have not pulled up, got out,
and had a cup of tea,

there's something wrong.

This will do 0-120mph
in seven seconds.

Come on, Harris,
let's see what you've got.

ENGINES REV

Three, two, one,

go!

Oh, he's off!

Well, that McLaren is gone!

Come on the Aston!

I can't even see them!

Oh, I'm coming back on the Aston!

Come on!
Here we go.

Look at the McLaren!

160. 170.

180! Dearie me,
the speed is outrageous.

Pretty much 200 over the line.

Wow!

Best loser, baby!

Geez!

In surprise order, then,

the Alfa had beaten the Aston
to second place.

Magnifico!

Do you know what, Pad?

I can't even be unhappy for you.

Harris's McLaren had smashed
the both of us...

Sometimes straight line
speed is boring,

but not when it's that fast.

..and the producers have decided
a drag race

was not the best way
to test our three track specialists.

Challenge, Pad.

Can we just confirm who won?

Yeah, but it was obvious
that was going to happen.

Shall I read this?

Can we just say as well?
He won by about three seconds,

but if you put that into
pounds and pence,

so he's paid £245,000
more than my car,

and it gave him three seconds back.
Value for money, that.

Oh, here we go.

"Since the best track special
should make you feel like a hero

"around a circuit, you will now
find out what yours can do

"at a track day."

Yes!
Very nice.

And that is more like it.
None of this drag race nonsense.

Well, he's got an advantage
on the track,

because everyone will be behind him
going, "Oh, it's the safety car,

"let's go slow," so he can hold
everyone back

while me and you have a good
razz around, Christopher!

Well, yes and no.

Because it turned out the track day
we'd been sent to

was the Formula 1
British Grand Prix.

Every year,

Silverstone circuit plays host to
the fastest cars on the planet,

all racing for glory in front of
hundreds of thousands of fans.

The jewel in the crown
of the British motorsport calendar,

as track days go,
this is a big one.

F1 weekend at Silverstone, boys,
this is serious stuff.

I feel like we've signed up
for a game of five-a-side

and somehow ended up
in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

How excited are you, Chris?
You love the F1.

Any driver that can handle one
of those machines surrounded by

20 similar nutcases is a hero
in my book. They're all heroes,

even the ones at the back.

The question was, though, what on
earth were we even doing there?

Oh, lads!

We're only rolling onto the track!

Are you should we should be
on here, Paddy?

I'm not, Fred. I'm really not.

I feel like I'm trespassing.

The crowd in for our track there.

Formula 1 drivers.

Three of them.

So because our track specials
were all made by companies

that also happen to run F1 teams,

we'd been told we'd be taking on
their drivers in a relay race.

From Aston Martin, Sebastian Vettel.

From Alfa Romeo, Antonio Giovinazzi.

From McLaren, Lando Norris.

Three of the finest racing drivers
in the world against...us lot.

Oh!

CHEERING

Wow.

Lads! Gents, thank you so much
for taking time out of

your busy weekend
to presumably humiliate us.

No worries. Are you looking forward
to driving these cars?

Yes, of course, if you warm them up.

Very, very simple, lads.

It's a relay race.

Sebastian, you'll start us off
in the Aston.

One lap of the track,
you'll come back in here,

and you'll touch the bonnet
of the Alfa.

This is the important part -
don't get run over.

Antonio, you then set off.
You do your lap.

You'll come back in, come over to
your McLaren,

touch the bonnet. Lando, you will
then set off, my friend,

do your lap, come in here,
and that's when we stop the clock.

Simple enough?
Think so.

Right, lads, you're going to lay
down the benchmark, then us three

are going to see how close
we can get to you.

All right.
Sebastian, get yourself in your car.

All right.
Here we go! Come on.

Seen how thin they are? Very thin.

You seen how thin they are?
Very thin. Yeah.

I think these old men
have no chance.

Sebastian, are you ready?

I'm ready.

Three, two, one, go.

Oh, he's off.
He is off.

Good start.

Oh, my word.

Follow that line.
Have you been round here before?

Never. Have you?
Never.

Get yourself ready, Antonio.

Lando, what would you go round
in an F1 car?

1:26.

Oh, dear God.
Oh, Jesus Christ.

Here we go, Copse Corner,
my favourite round here.

God, he's not messing about, is he?

We won't be going round
quite as quick.

That was the best section ever.

Maggots. Becketts.

And Chapel.

High speed corners,
what G do you pull?

Er, five?

Five?!
Five and a half?

Here he comes. Don't forget
he's got to tap the bonnet.

The changeover.
This is where we get our time back.

That's not the bonnet!
That's not the bonnet!

Five seconds off!

He thought it was rear engined.

Whoa!

Look at the Alfa,
how beautiful is that?

The car, innit?

Go on, son.

Those tyres are suitably
warmed up now.

It's a good lap.

Here he comes. Here he comes!

Oh!

It's all about the changeover.
All about the baton.

Done it again!

Oh, my word.

Gone.

Oh, my God.

I've never driven this car before.

It's quicker than I thought.

How was that?

How was it?
It was hard, man.

It's hard, eh? Yeah! Heavy!

Oh, what a beast.

That does look quick.
Cos he is quick.

Oh, he's gone right over there.

Holy Moley.

Oh, here he comes.

Let's cheer him on.

Whoa, whoa. Bloody hell!

See how fast that was going?!

That was lively!

What's he doing?!

Oh, you see...

I've got to drive that!

Ah!

Come on.

Easy!

Lando, what is it with young lads
and doughnuts?

You can't resist, can you?
I couldn't.

OK, got the times, lads?

Team F1, your combined time was...

..7:31.62.

To be honest, for three laps,
it's not too bad.

Not so bad.

Obviously, we're not going
to beat that.

We're two middle aged men from
Lancashire and one from Bristol.

Yeah, exactly.
We're going to need...

We're going to need five or ten
seconds or something.

What will you give us?
What are we going to give them?

Ten seconds each?

How much older are they?

A lot.
And fatter.

30 seconds is embarrassing.
Shut it. We'll take it.

31!

PADDY AND FREDDIE CHEER

Let's see what they think. 31?

CHEERING

Yeah, there you go.
31, it's a good one.

Right, we know what we've got to do.
Fred, you're up first, son, go on.

Knock 'em dead. Knock 'em dead.

CHEERING

Just to be clear, in a sport
where every hundredth counts,

a 31-second handicap
is a shamefully long time.

But while eight minutes and two
seconds was now the target to beat,

with two of our team having never
driven the track before,

there was also
the very real question

of whether we'd even finish.

OK, Freddie, are you ready, son?

I think so, Pad.

All right, do it for
the middle-aged men. Here we go.

Three, two, one, go.

First corner is a right-hander,
it's a right-hander!

No idea where I'm going.

The next corner's a left-hander.

I'm going to get in already.

After the right, there's a left.

Come on, I'm only up against
Sebastian Vettel.

I think he's doing really well.
Do you? Yeah.

Come on! Get on, get on, get on!

Get some speed up.

All of a sudden,
the suit feels a lot tighter

and the car feels a lot heavier.

Get round...

Go on, Fred. Come on, Fred.

Brake, brake, brake!

Oh, he's not going in the back
of me. That's all right.

GENTLE BEEPING

What the BLEEP's going on?!

Go! Go!
Brakes!

Oh, my God,
he can't get the handbrake off.

What's going on?!

LAUGHTER

What's going on?!

IRONIC CHEERS

CHRIS LAUGHS

He is a clown.
Absolute muppet, that lad.

What was going with that
parking brake?

Oh, that nearly caught me out.

Come on, Chris.

140. I'm in the wrong gear. Oh, God.

Oh, come on, Alfa!

Right, let's get flat-out here.

Get some time back, for God's sake!

Harris needs to be absolutely
mustard now.

Come on, Pad. Where is he now?

This'll be good.

Oh, my God.

Oi! Oi! Oi!

It wouldn't go!
Handbrake! Handbrake!

You just embarrassed yourself in
front of three of the world's

best drivers.
Sorry about that, lads.

McGuinness' issues on the start line
had cost us a whole heap of time.

HIGH-PITCHED VOICE: I couldn't
believe that, man!

BOTH SAY NOTHING
IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICES

Really high-pitched voice. It
wouldn't go, mate! It wouldn't go!

HIGH-PITCHED VOICE: I took my foot
off the brakes, it wouldn't go!

LAUGHTER

Antonio stitched me up!

LAUGHTER

It was now all on Harris
to wring everything he could

out of his McLaren
to keep us in the running.

I think he's made up for
some of your lost time.

Yeah, thank God.

Step back, everyone.

Fast, yeah?
Yeah.

That was close to you.

We'd all made it round,
which was a result in itself.

Go on, Chrissy Harris!

CHEERING

But that did of course leave
the small matter of our time.

Oh, come on, Pad.
Here we go.

Right, now, so, lads,
you did it in 7:31.62.

You give us 31.
That takes you to 8:02.62.

We did it in 8:...

..24.34.

Oh!
Miles off!

I feel as though that ten seconds
I was trying to get the handbrake...

10? That was at least 30 seconds.

But what a pleasure
to be beat by these guys.

Cheers, boys.
Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, lads.

CHEERING

I was dying for you there, Pad,
dying.

I wasn't, and I thought,
"If that had been me,

"McGuinness would have just
dined out on it forever."

HE CHUCKLES

I still think Antonio stiffed me.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Whoa!
We got hammered, boys.

We did, but what a day.
unbelievable.

We got to drive F1 weekend
at Silverstone.

People would give their right arm
for that. It was an amazing day.

It was a treat.
It was spectacular.

Although I was packed into
that suit, I've got to say.

No-one noticed, Pad.

Now we might have lost
to the F1 guys,

but I've been drilling into
the data.

Really?
You know I love a bit of data.

You know what caught my eye?
Go on.

The two lap times of the McLaren.

Lando Norris, F1 ace,
future world champion,

against our very own Chrissy Harris
sturdy lad from Bristol.

Oh, look at that.

Who wants to know
how close their lap times were?

CHEERING
Yes. Yes!

Not sure Chris does,
but Lando's lap,

two minutes, 17 seconds.
Wow.

Now Chris' lap,

two minutes...

..18 seconds.

Wow!
He only beat him by one second!

One second! One second!

Chis, pound for pound,
you're faster.

Wow.
Adjusted for weight...

CHEERING CONTINUES

Panto season.

CHEERING INTENSIFIES

Milking it! Let's hear it
for fat lads everywhere.

Never hear the end of it.
Never hear the end of it.

Adjusted for weight,
I'm claiming that as a draw.

Oh, I would say one second, that,
my friend, is proper impressive,

which baffles me
why he doesn't win many challenges.

LAUGHTER

Handbrake.

Yeah, yeah, bit of a technical,
I'm gutted,

but it's not as though
it was at Silverstone

in front of three F1 drivers
and thousands of people,

so it was all right.
I got away with that one.

At least you finally put the Diablo
to bed.

Yes!
Yes.

Every cloud! Every cloud.
That is a burn!

The one thing I will give you,
though, Pad, is your choice of car.

The Aston - it's all right.

But that Alfa, I love it.
Absolutely love it.

This is what I mean. You're saying
the Aston is all right,

you're dismissing it
because of this.

Come on, don't forget this.

It's a monster.
That is unbelievably fast. A weapon.

Absolute weapon.

Right, it's time to move on
to something a little bit more

personal. They say
never meet your heroes.

Well, I did, and it was one
of the best things I've ever done.

Take a look at this.

It's an Evel Knievel rally.

Far out!

Wow!

Far out!

PADDY CHUCKLES

Now, back in the day
when I was a little lad,

this was the toy to have -

the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle,
and I know it doesn't look much now,

but this could turn
any living room or any pavement

into your very own stunt show.

Evel Knievel was the world's
most famous motorcycle daredevil.

Known for his huge, death-defying
jumps, every time he got on a bike,

he would either break a new world
record or break himself trying.

But the truth was,
growing up here in Bolton,

Evel Knievel wasn't really real.

He wasn't on British TV,
there was no YouTube,

and he lived in America,

which to me and my mates
was a completely different world.

What we needed in this country
was a true blue daredevil superstar

that we could call our own.

He's done it. Incredible!

Daredevil champion of the world,
Britain's Eddie Kidd!

How you doing?

Good, mate. How are you?
I'm good.

My name is Stephen Flaherty,
I'm from London,

and I grew up with Eddie Kidd.

I'm Christine Morris,
Eddie's sister.

I'm Marjorie Kidd,
and I'm Eddie Kidd's mum,

for the last 61 years.

He always had a little bike.

He used to cycle everywhere.

He was always sort of climbing
and running and jumping.

We used to go to the cinema quite
a lot, go to late night cinema.

We went to see a film
on Evel Knievel.

And that was it.

They were absolutely hooked on it.

That's just something that we both
wanted to be, you know,

we just both wanted to be
Evel Knievel.

So this young lad, Eddie Kidd,

he's riding round north London
on his BMX, with all his mates,

doing jumps and pretending to be
a daredevil.

And then one day,
he gets on a motorcycle,

and then everything changes.

He was never frightened, Eddie.

He never, ever showed fear at all.

Never.

We used to go to a place
in east London called Eton Manor.

We used to practise there.

We'd had a couple of guys
come from the Royal Artillery.

The manager at the time, the owner,
he had some T-shirts made up

of somebody jumping a bus longways.

Us being kids, we always said,
"No, no-one can do that,

"only Evel Knievel.
He's the only one."

The guy that was doing it
at the time,

he come up short a couple of times.

So Eddie was sitting there
on his little bike.

And he said, "I'll do that."

"Oh, shut up. Don't be silly."

But he kept saying, "Can I do it?
Can I do it?"

And he said, "Yeah, go on, then,"
as a joke.

And Eddie did it.

He done it. It was amazing.

We couldn't believe it.

And from then, he became the star
of the show from then on.

Eddie was unleashed.

In 1975, still just 16 years old,

he jumped 13 double-decker buses,

a new world record.

Three years later,
he cleared 14 buses.

Eddie was quickly proving himself to
be one of the more skilful riders

ever to wield a bike.

He just had hand-to-eye coordination
that was phenomenal.

He could have been a top golfer,
tennis player, anything else,

if he'd set his mind to it.

So here we have this super-talented
lad doing things on a bike

the world had never seen before.

But that wasn't the end
of the story for Eddie.

This was a bloke who had it all.

He was a pin-up of such proportions.

I mean, he was over
all the girls' bedrooms,

and he was on every magazine.

He was as big as the pop stars.

If I say "hordes of girls,"
I am not exaggerating.

Everywhere you went, it was
Eddie Kidd, Eddie Kidd, Eddie Kidd.

Eddie Kidd. Eddie Kidd. Eddie Kidd.

His rise was meteoric.

I don't really think I'm sexy.
Oh, come on.

Eddie became the face,
or rather the rear, of Levi jeans.

Vivienne Westwood
designed his bike leathers.

And of course, those looks
and a talent like none other

meant Hollywood wanted a piece
of the kid too.

Doubled for James Bond,
Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas,

doubled for Richard Gere
in First Knight on a horse.

Eddie even starred in 1981's Riding
High, where naturally his first

full silver screen debut called for
another incredible stunt.

From motorcycle stuntman to model
to actor, and dare I say it,

even had a go at the singing
as well.

Throughout the '80s and early '90s,
Eddie was everywhere.

He had the looks, he had the style,

and me and all my mates
wanted to be him.

And then in 1993, he did a stunt
that blew us all away.

I think to be a motorcycle jumper,
you have to be brave.

You have to be confident.

The drop off the side
was hundreds of feet.

By Eddie's standards, the Great Wall
wasn't an especially long jump,

but it was insanely dangerous.

You're setting yourself off knowing
that this could be the last time

you're going to be able
to walk and breathe and run.

Off he goes down the ramp.

He takes off,
disappears from my vie.

I can't see him.

CHEERING

To have that bottle,
that straight bottle to do that,

to get on the bike and kill that
stunt and nail it,

is a phenomenal talent that
you don't come across very often.

It was impressive to a guy like me,
because I never did it.

But when you walk into a brand-new
jump,

and there's this much room
for error, which is none, you know,

it's like, be spot on
or you're in trouble.

And he did it spot on.

For years, Eddie had tried
to lure his old rival, Evel Knievel,

into a jump-off.

But he didn't take the bait.

And by '93, he'd long since retired,
but Evel's son Robbie

was now also a daredevil rider.

In fact, he was even better
than his dad.

I was like, "This is the only worthy
challenger that I've seen

"that looks like me focused on that
jump, that I want to jump against."

You can have Knievel vs Kidd
at last.

This thing is a dream come true.

They called it the Daredevil Duel.

Robbie in the trademark

Knievel white suit

vs Eddie all in black.

What I remember is just
total competition.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Robbie Knievel!

CHEERING

I thought I was the best,
and he thought he was the best.

From London, England, Eddie Kidd!

Each rider had three jumps.

Furthest combined distance would
be crowned daredevil champion...

..of the world.

It's the craziest thing every time,
because you're risking your life.

He's got it lined up.

My first jump was small,
like 192 feet.

I believe Eddie Kidd is ready to go.

Then Eddie comes out and does 214.

Eddie Kidd is letting it rip,
nearing 90mph.

CHEERING

214 feet.

Yeah!

I'm like, "Oh, man, I'm in trouble."

My next jump, I just said,
"This is it.

"I'm going to risk it all."

I watched that thing with bated
breath,

because these were world record...

Everyone was a world record champ.

It's a huge show!

I was like, "Yeah!"

That could well be
the biggest jump of the night.

That whole jump competition
went on the last jump.

Knievel had done his three jumps,
Eddie was doing this last jump.

The biggest jump
of Eddie Kidd's career.

HEAVY BREATHING

He needs 210 feet.

He's off the launch ramp.

Eddie comes right back like that,
you think, "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

Bang. Somehow he brings it back.

CHEERING

Yes!

215 feet for Eddie Kidd.

That was a massive achievement
for Eddie,

the son of Evel Knievel,
and he beats him.

When I saw him grab that belt...

..I go, "He deserves that."

At last, he's got that recognition

where he surpassed
the Knievel legend.

The best jumper for sure
that I ever seen in my life.

I never worried about Eddie.

Why? Why did I not worry about it?

Because he had so much confidence
in himself.

Eddie never had any bad accidents.

He never broke a bone in his body.

He was almost Teflon Eddie,
he'd just bounce back,

he was indestructible.

Three years after the Daredevil
Duel, Eddie was back in Britain,

performing here, at a motorcycle
festival called the Bulldog Bash.

Now, the jump was pretty standard
for someone as skilled as Eddie -

50 odd feet over the drag strip -

but the landing, that was going
to be a little bit more tricky.

He got there, and I said,
"You're jumping into a hill

"and there's no way you can do that.

"All my years of experience
following motocross

and being involved in it,
you will injure yourself."

When you have a landing ramp,
you come down.

The landing ramp brings you down
nice and slowly to gravity.

You know, it's a smooth transition
down.

You cannot land uphill.

I did really try and
talk him out of it,

but he said he'd committed himself
and he was going to do it.

He lands, and he's straight into
an uphill,

so the bike does that,
literally, bang,

and his head hits the petrol tank.

His body went limp.

Straight away, you could see that he
was he was knocked unconscious,

didn't make any attempt
to put any brakes on.

You think he's got control
of the bike,

even though he's unconscious,

because he seems to slow
as he goes to the top?

And you're think, "He's got it,
he's got it, he's got it."

And then almost in slow motion,
if you watch it back,

almost in slow motion,
he drops off the edge.

And that's when I knew
it wasn't a simple accident.

When I managed to get down there,
he was at the bottom of this bank,

laid there with two Hell's Angels
close to him,

and they were calling the ambulance.

I thought he was dead.

We got a phone call saying that
Eddie was in the hospital.

When we got there,
he was in a coma.

They told us he was in a coma.

I couldn't believe it,
that he'd had this accident.

I remember going in
and the doctor saying...

..the next 72 hours or whatever
it was, don't know what it was...

And I walked out.

In fact, it's making me
emotional now.

Because I thought they were
telling me he was going to die.

Eddie survived,
but it was a close-run thing.

He spent three months in a coma,
and when he finally awoke,

he was left with
life-changing brain injuries.

That was 25 years ago.

But here's the thing.

When I set out to make this film,

I didn't just want to tell you
the story of my childhood hero,

I wanted to meet him,

to pay my respects to
a great British legend

and show him just what a trail
he blazed.

Eddie now lives on the south coast.

He has a carer, Glen...

Hello, pal, how are you?
Good to see you. You OK?

Glad to see you.

..and they were good enough
to let me stop by for a chat.

The guvnor!

The absolute guvnor!

Eddie. Pleased to meet you, sir.

Pleased to meet you.
EDDIE MUMBLES

I know what he said, Paddy.

LAUGHTER

Eddie, I cannot believe
I'm here with you.

My mates will be so jealous.

Honestly, when I was a kid,
I had your posters up in my bedroom

until my mum took them
for her own bedroom.

I don't want to talk about that on
camera, but it's an absolute thrill.

I'm so glad you've let me
come and see you down here.

Would you mind if I just get rid of
me nervous energy

and just have a little bit of a look
at some of your items around?

Go, go, go.
Right, I'm on it. I'm on it.

I've got to come over here first.

Oh, wow.

Are these the Vivienne Westwood
ones?

Yeah. Some weight on them.
Look at... The weight!

I know.

I was going to say, "Am I OK
to touch your helmet, Eddie?"

That's a...
EDDIE MUMBLES

Look on...the back.

The back?

"It ain't easy being this good!"

LAUGHTER
Look at that!

Oh, "Fear no Evel."

Look at that.

So this, this is the actual bike,
then.

Look at the tank, Paddy,
that's from the crash.

Look at all this here.

I mean, this is, for me, a real
surprise, seeing the damage caused,

because it's just as quick as that.

So this bike, you nicknamed Sid,
because they say it was so Vicious.

Yeah.

That is...mad.

So this is the
Great Wall of China jump.

Oh!

EDDIE MUMBLES

It...was...the...
hardest jump he's done.

And the mayor, he was down
the bottom speaking to people,

he missed it,
he asked Eddie to do it again.

No way!

EDDIE MUMBLES
I...

..don't...think so.

LAUGHTER

So I noticed Sid out in the hall
there, Eddie.

Who else drove that bike,
apart from you?

Was anyone...?
EDDIE PROTESTS

Oh, what's he done?
What's he done?

What have I done?

Ride! Ride!

Oh, no! No! No!

How have I done it?! How have I
done that in front of the gaffer?!

That is the worst thing you could
have ever said, ever.

Oh! I've upset myself.

I've upset me family name.

I won't be allowed back up in Bolton
after this, Eddie.

Oh, God, you want me doing...

LAUGHTER

Pack it in, Eddie!

Now, it's probably just as well for
me the story doesn't end there...

..because it was time to show Eddie
that trail he blazed.

And that meant taking
a little drive.

The Black Knights ride again.

LAUGHTER

What a way to travel, lads.

Check thee boys out now, Eddie.

HORNS BEEP

Go on, boys!

Yeah!

All for you and again, Eddie.

HORNS BEEP

Yes! Wow!

HORNS BEEP

Yes!

The little trike at the back.

Wow.

Wow.

I've got a little surprise
for you up here, Eddie.

CHEERING

Eddie, while you get yourself
acquainted with your friends

and family, I'm going to get out
because I've got a bit of

something special lined up for you,
pal.

Here we go.

Are you all right Eddie?

Paddy Kidd at your service.

And this is a bit of something
I've done just for you, pal.

Come on, Paddy!

CHEERING

Go on, Paddy!

Just for you, that, pal.

Oh!

What you laughing at?!

It took me a month to practise that.

Let me get this off here.

Where...is...the fire?

LAUGHTER

Well, listen,
that was just the appetiser.

Now it's time for the main course.

Hit it!

Yes, for Britain's best,
we brought together the best.

This is for you, Eddie.

Some of this great nation's
most talented performers on wheels.

This is for you, Eddie.

Everyone dedicating their lives
to pure daredevil showmanship.

This is for you.

O-ho, here we go!

Yes!

O-ho-ho-ho!

Woo!

CHEERING

Here he is!

Oh!

Oh! Yes!

Oh!

Bloody hell, I were convinced
he were off then.

Oh, here we go.

Eddie was the pioneer.

He paved the way and inspired
a generation of kids

that are doing it now.

He was the king of jumps.

He would push it to the extreme
every time he would

get on his motorcycle.

The fact that he started doing
this when he was just 14

and jumping over buses in just
a helmet and a leather jacket

is insane.

It takes that one person to do it,
and then everyone else thinks,

"Oh, yeah, we could do that."

Everything that he did was gnarly,
and without Eddie, you know,

God knows where we'd be.

You pioneered for all of us
to have a fantastic career

in this industry.

Thanks, Eddie. Keep smiling, buddy.

Don't make him cry,
he'll make me cry.

Bloody hell. We're all at it.

I think it were the petrol fumes.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That was a special film.
Special.

What a hero he is,
and what a privilege for me.

The man is an absolute legend.

Yep. Fair play, Paddy,
that was different class.

Proper tribute
to a proper British hero.

Correct. Well played. Correct.

One of the all time-greats. Look
how many people wanted to come out

and say thank you to Eddie.

He was an inspiration
to so many people.

He definitely was.
God bless you, Eddie.

That's it for tonight.

We'll be back next week when we
fast forward to the future

with some brand-new
state of the art electric cars.

And some tiny caravans.

Very tiny, very small.

Perfect for you, Chris. Harsh.

Thanks so much for watching.
Goodnight.

APPLAUSE