James May has revealed the reason why he, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond split up professionally.

The trio parted ways professionally after 22 years of working together with the finale of The Grand Tour on Friday, September 13.

Having made a name for themselves on the BBC with Top Gear, the three friends then started The Grand Tour in 2015.

The Prime Video show proved a hit but came to an end last week with the special, One For The Road, set in Zimbabwe, Africa.

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Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May launching the final episode of The Grand TourJeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May launching the final episode of The Grand Tour (Image: Ian West / PA Wire)

The trio signed off on the dissolution of their production company in July and have been going their own ways professionally with different projects in recent years.

James May has now revealed why the three friends have gone their separate ways during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme

“We are getting on a bit and everything does have to end,” he said.

“To be honest, we wanted to end it on our own terms. As we always used to say, we want to land it safely, not fly it into a cliff.”

Mr May believes he and the others have “largely exhausted our take on the subject” but added: “Not the subject itself.

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“There’s space, I think, for a new approach to it, but it can’t come from us. We’re a bit too stuck in our way of doing it.

“I sometimes wonder if it is the friendship – we wind each other up so badly but it definitely started out as cars and our enthusiasm for them and even, dare I say it, our knowledge of them.”

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