Top Gear trio roar into Black Country
Monday 29th March 2010, 11:30AM BST.
Top Gear stars Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond motored into West Bromwich – to film scenes for the next series of the cult TV show.
The trio were in the town as part of a feature of former West Bromwich car manufacturer Jensen Motors Ltd.
The renowned company, set up by Richard and Allan Jensen in 1934 built sports cars and commercial vehicles, but eventually went bankrupt, ceasing trading in 1976 following a buy-out in 1959.
The company built exclusive custom bodies for standard cars produced by several manufacturers of the day including Morris, Singer, Standard, and Wolseley.
The presenters and their production team approached West Bromwich company Reliant Windows Ltd at its base on Kelvin Way, the former home of Jensen to show them around the area.
The three presenters drove classic sports cars – Jeremy Clarkson in a Jensen Healey, Solihull-born Richard Hammond in a Lotus and James May in a TVR, from the Lotus factory at Hethel to the old site of the Jensen factory in Kelvin Way, West Bromwich.
Once on site, the presenters discussed the heritage and history of the site, the Jensen Healey car itself and had a look at what is happening there these days.
The show will hit the screens this summer, with the staff of the window company invited to the studio to watch filming.Reliant Window’s director, Nick Allen she he was thrilled when the company was approached.
He said: “The directors at Top Gear came into our offices a couple of weeks ago and asked if we were happy to be a part of the programme.
“The Jensen name is viewed with a great deal of nostalgia and fondness in the West Bromwich area and it was great for our staff to meet the presenters and for them to take an interest in our business – a good local company employing local people. “
The filming went extremely well and Top Gear has kindly invited us to the live filming of the show this summer.
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