Top Gear to Rotate Hosts Each Episode

June 4, 2015
Ever since Jeremy Clarkson was sacked, the legions of "Top Gear" fans around the world have been waiting with baited breath to find out who will replace him — and possibly his co-hosts as well. But the answer may not be that straightforward.According to British newspaper The Independent, the BBC could opt to take a different approach altogether, and change hosts from one episode to another. That might sound a little strange, but apparently wouldn't be without precedent for The Beeb: For a dozen years the network's popular news satire program "Have I Got News For You?" was hosted by the same lineup of

Ever since Jeremy Clarkson was sacked, the legions of "Top Gear" fans around the world have been waiting with baited breath to find out who will replace him — and possibly his co-hosts as well. But the answer may not be that straightforward.

According to British newspaper The Independent, the BBC could opt to take a different approach altogether, and change hosts from one episode to another. That might sound a little strange, but apparently wouldn't be without precedent for The Beeb: For a dozen years the network's popular news satire program "Have I Got News For You?" was hosted by the same lineup of Angus Deayton, Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. No, we'd never heard of them either, but the point is that since Deayton was fired in 2002 in the wake of prostitution and drug-abuse allegations, it has switched up its hosts from show to show.

The question is what that would mean for James May and Richard Hammond. The two have ostensibly been left in limbo since "Top Gear" was taken off the air in the wake of Clarkson's alleged assault against an assistant producer on the show. And they could refuse to return in solidarity with their longtime captain. But The Independent also reports that the BBC has offered them each a million pounds (~$1.5 million) per season to carry on without Jezza.

If the reports of a host-swap scheme prove accurate, there could be plenty of room for them, for the previously touted lineup of Philip Glenister, Guy Martin and Jodie Kidd, or anyone else that might like to take a stab at it in the future.

This article originally appeared on MSN.