History Characters / TopGearUK

** The Stig even has a digital cousin. [[note]]A digitized Stig formed out of data bits that tends to flicker all the time and needs to be downloaded into the real world, but can also choose to teleport back into the virtual world. He resides in the UsefulNotes/XboxONE game ''[[VideoGame/ForzaMotorsport Forza Motorsport 5]]''.[[/note]]

* {{Catchphrase}}: "It's a prototype!" Said when one of his colleagues disparages one of his automotive creations or drives it roughly.

* {{Catchphrase}}: When something goes wrong for one of the guys:

* CatchPhrase:

* CatchPhrase and LampshadeHanging:

* CatchPhrase:

* ClusterFBomb: In particular, his bike section of the "Public Transport vs. a Car vs. a Boat vs. a Bike across London" challenge

* TheGenericGuy: Very much downplayed, since Hammond still brought a lot of charisma and personality to the show, just that he wasn't as exaggerated a character as Clarkson or May. In the end his comic persona is present but more subtle than either of his co-presenters: a country boy who paid lipservice to his bucolic roots while in reality being incredibly metropolitan who paid a lot of attention to his appearance and reputation because he was CompensatingForSomething- which often lead to his angry outbursts whenever he was riled.

* {{Kayfabe}}: It was an open secret that Ben Collins was the man beneath the helmet. However, on and off the show, the presenters and crew maintained that the Stig was an ambiguously human figure whose only purpose in life was to drive cars as fast as possible.

* BrokenAce: The reason why Ben Collins became the Stig in the first place. He was a very talented young driver with even Jackie Stewart predicting his rise to Formula 1, and then things just fell apart and he ended up in UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} for a bit before spending most of his time doing stunt work and teaching driving for the British Army. [[ForegoneConclusion Then the call from Top Gear came...]]

!!Eddie Jordan
A former race team operator and ''Top Gear'''s resident crazy uncle. He is a semi-regular presenter who usually comes on to take a coach[=/=]mentor role in races between presenters.
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* BewareTheSillyOnes: He normally comes across as friendly and quaint with a tendency to ramble at length, but he is all business when it comes to racing and can be downright terrifying when chewing someone out for not following his instructions.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: He had to be barred from driving during a race in Africa when it became apparent that his unfamiliarity with the car he was driving made him a liability.

* FallenHero

[[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with]] [[Creator/ChrisEvans the actor who plays Captain America]]. Primarily known as a DJ on BBC Radio 2 and a presenter on the BBC's ''The One Show'', Evans is also a well-known petrolhead with an impressive collection of sports cars. Starting from Series 23, he stepped into the role of lead presenter. His selection was... controversial, and as of July 2016 he has parted ways with the show.

* AmbiguousDisorder: The guys do tend to joke around that he has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Asperger's due to the combination of his obsession with cleanliness and and order, and his {{Cloudcuckoolander}} moments. How much of this is played-up or real is an ongoing debate.

* HairTriggerTemper: A lot of things, ranging from James May's obsession with organizing things to something refusing to work, will set him off.

* TrueCompanions: Clarkson did not get his contract renewed after punching a producer. The other two were offered huge salaries by the BBC to continue without him, but quit instead. The three, along with producer Andy Wilman, ended up moving to [[Creator/PrimeVideo Amazon]] and making a SpiritualSuccessor, ''Series/TheGrandTour''. Perhaps May said it the best:

* TheMeanBrit: He's often seen as this, but he is actually quite affable in most interactions. The only times he tends to get really snarky are when someone is snarky to him.

* EpicFail: While all the presenters have their shares of failures, in any challenge it is all but guaranteed that what ever Jeremy comes up with either crash, break down, not start, or get [[IncendiaryExponent set on fire]]. [[UpToEleven Or possibly set itself on fire.]]

* NiceGuy: Is a genuinely nice guy in RealLife and very easy to get along with. One of the reasons why he was so good as the Stig, apart from his incredible driving, was that he was so patient and accommodating with the celebrities, and his companionable nature made him a brilliant teacher[=/=]instructor -- even excitable and adrenaline-fuelled drivers like footballer Ian Wright praised his ability to calm him down and get him focused[[note]]to get an idea of just how nice he is, when the law suit became big news he could be found [[UpToEleven quietly serving hot tea and umbrellas to the paparazzi who mobbed his house because it was cold and raining.]] Yes, really[[/note]]. Not even our trio of indignant presenters could stay mad at him for too long behind the scenes -- once he'd met with them a couple of times.

* BadassBoast: On her first time on the show, and after Clarkson did a 9:59 around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a diesel Jaguar, Schmitz declared "I do that lap time in a ''van''!" When given the chance she failed but was so close that she didn't harm her reputation as a BadassDriver; He did a 9:59, while she did a 10:08 (again, in a ''van''. Around the ''Nürburgring''.)

* AlwaysWantedToSayThat: "Back to the studio". The first time he tries saying it, May cuts in.

** Later specials (Beginning with the second USA Road Trip) has his outright hate for Music/{{Genesis}}. This gets exploited a lot (particularly by Clarkson), as exemplified with this bit from the India Special:

* SkunkStripe: He started with two prominent white streaks starting at his temples, but as the series went on, he went almost completely gray.

One of the presenters from the original, 1977 to 2001 series. Now of [[DuelingShows rival show]] FifthGear. Is still technically counted as a Top Gear presenter (at least when James needed to race superbike piloted by a superbike champion). Also moonlighted as "emergency Stig" after the first White Stig left for one episode where he helped train that episodes guest star in a reasonably priced car (Danny Boyle).

* ReplacementScrappy: To say he was disliked as a host is putting it mildly.

* EmbarrassingNickname: He isn't fond of his nickname "The Hamster"

* ForeignCultureFetish: For the USA. He apparently owns a Stetson, a classic Ford Mustang and a Harley Davidson.

* ICallItVera: He was mocked by his co-hosts when he referred to the car he was driving as "Oliver" (Oliver wound up becoming his CompanionCube).

* CrazyAwesome: Invoked by (and about) Clarkson frequently, who does things simply because he ''[[RefugeInAudacity can]]''.