Top Gear series 21

Top Gear
Season 21
Promotional poster
Starring	Jeremy Clarkson Richard Hammond James May
No. of episodes	7
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Original release	2 February (2014-02-02) – 16 March 2014 (2014-03-16)
Series chronology

The twenty-first series of Top Gear aired during 2014 on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and consisted of 5 episodes, beginning on 2 February and concluding on 2 March. The series was subsequently followed by a two part special entitled "Burma Special", with the first part aired on 9 March a week after the series concluded, and the second part on 16 March.

Production

Confirmation that filming of Series 21 was made on 16 September 2013 via a tweet made on Jeremy Clarkson's Twitter account, which confirmed the two part special was being filmed on 20 October later that year. A teaser trailer for the new series was released on the BBC's YouTube channel, and across BBC channels on 17 January 2014.

Episodes

Main article: List of Top Gear episodes

Total	No.	Title	Review	Features/challenges	Guest(s)	Original air date	UK viewers (million)
160	1	Series 21, Episode 1	None	Prove that the hot hatchbacks of their youth were better than their modern equivalents: (Volkswagen Golf Mk2 GTI • Vauxhall Nova SRi • Ford Fiesta XR2i)	Hugh Bonneville	2 February 2014 (2014-02-02)	6.12
161	2	Series 21, Episode 2	Alfa Romeo 4C • Gibbs Quadski • McLaren P1	Alfa Romeo 4C vs Gibbs Quadski • May visits Camp Bastion in Afghanistan	Tom Hiddleston	9 February 2014 (2014-02-09)	6.97
162	3	Series 21, Episode 3	Zenvo ST1	Trip through Ukraine in compact hatchbacks: (Volkswagen Up! • Ford Fiesta • Dacia Sandero)	James Blunt	16 February 2014 (2014-02-16)	6.87
163	4	Series 21, Episode 4	Mercedes Benz G63 AMG 6x6 • Caterham 7 160 • Caterham 7 620R • Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring	Mercedes Benz G63 AMG 6x6	Jack Whitehall	23 February 2014 (2014-02-23)	6.53
164	5	Series 21, Episode 5	Porsche 918 • BMW M135i • VW Golf GTI Mk7	Make a commercial for reducing cycle-related accidents	Aaron Paul	2 March 2014 (2014-03-02)	5.64
165	SP–Pt1	"Series 21, Episode 6: Burma Special, Part 1"	N/A	Build a bridge over the River Kwai: (Isuzu TX • Isuzu TX • Hino FB110)	N/A	9 March 2014 (2014-03-09)	6.29
166	SP–Pt2	"Series 21, Episode 7: Burma Special, Part 2"	N/A	Build a bridge over the River Kwai: (Isuzu TX • Isuzu TX • Hino FB110)	N/A	16 March 2014 (2014-03-16)	7.01

Criticism and Controversy

Burma Special "slope" comment

In the second part of the Burma Special, a scene showing the presenters looking over their completed bridge over the Kok River, featured a moment in which a native of the area is crossing the bridge as Jeremy Clarkson says to Richard Hammond about their finished work - "That is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it." Following the broadcast of the second part, complaints of racism arose in regard to the comment, primarily citing that "slope" was a derogatory term for an Asian, leading to Top Gear and Andy Wilman, the show's executive producer, apologising for any offence caused by it in late April 2014, while subsequently cutting the scene from future repeats of the special. In a statement by Wilman to the media, the executive producer said:

"When we used the word slope in the recent Top Gear Burma Special it was a light-hearted word play joke referencing both the build quality of the bridge and the local Asian man who was crossing it. We were not aware at the time, and it has subsequently been brought to our attention, that the word slope is considered by some to be offensive and although it might not be widely recognised in the UK, we appreciate that it can be considered offensive to some here and overseas, for example in Australia and the USA. If we had known that at the time we would not have broadcast the word in this context and regret any offence caused."

However, a few months later, British broadcasting regulator Ofcom, which investigated the complaints of racism in regard to the comment, ruled that both the BBC and Top Gear had breached broadcasting rules for using offensive language, stating that the use of the term was both offensive and racist, that the explanation of its context for the broadcast could not be justified, and that the broadcaster had missed opportunities during filming and post-production to "check whether the word had the potential to offend viewers". Following the incident, and emergence of video evidence of an unaired take during filming for Series 19, in which he was shown to mumble another racist term, the BBC chose to give Jeremy Clarkson a final warning in regard to his behaviour, amidst calls by many public figures for him to be fired.