When the new hosts of Top Gear Australia get together, they run their mouths faster than they run their engines. Blair “Moog” Joscelyne, Beau Ryan, and Jonathan LaPaglia only met last year during the casting process for the rebooted series but the banter between them during WHO’s chat ahead of the show’s launch points to a fast and furious friendship.
“After the audition, I googled them both because I wanted to find out what was going on,” Joscelyne tells WHO. “And then we reconvened the next day in a public toilet away from all the other contenders…“ Hang on, you what?
This is not the first time the interview veers off course but like a well-oiled machine, in this case, Ryan brings it back on track. “It was at the audition, not in a park like creeps,” he laughs. “When we did the chemistry test, when the three of us got together, it was all over. The other people just started heading home.”
WATCH: TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA OFFICIAL TRAILER
So are you all revheads? Is that how you would describe yourself?
Jonathan: I’m a gearhead yes.
Beau: I appreciate cars and the cars we all appreciate are so different.
Blair: I love cars but I don’t love the cars that most people like. I like cheap, affordable nuggety cars that you can work on yourself.
Beau: I’m the opposite. I like fancy cars and I like big cars. Yes, they’re out of my price range but I still probably compensate. I like big, flashy, fast European cars.
Jonathan: I appreciate all cars but I have a thing for vintage and I’ve built my own car as well, so I’m really into the mechanical side of things. Just like Beau…
Beau: That’s right [laughs]. The hood comes up and I’m like, “Boys move back. Let’s get to work.”
Top Gear has been through a number of iterations over the years both here and, of course, in the UK. Why is it worth giving it another shot with the three of you?
Beau: There’s an appetite for it here in Australia. The hype around this is real. There hasn’t been one in Australia for over a decade. People still love watching the OG Top Gear and I believe Australia deserves its own franchise, like with any show, whether it’s Amazing Race [which Beau hosts] or Survivor [which Jonathan hosts] or Top Gear. We put our own spin on it and we be ourselves. We stay true to the format but we stay true to ourselves. We don’t try to be anyone we’re not.
Jonathan: It’s such a great format. Also, the way it’s played out is that this is now the only English-speaking version for the show currently, so that’s going to work in our favour. The UK one has evolved over the years … but we are doing a little bit of a throwback to the OG version, how the format is laid out in terms of the studio content. We tip our hat to the OG but we
are bringing our own flavour to it.
So no one has to be Jeremy Clarkson then?
Jonathan: That was the first thing [the producers] said to us was, “Do not try to be Jeremy Clarkson but do it just like him.”
Beau: And I wasn’t listening properly so all I heard was: “Be Jeremy Clarkson!” [laughs]
For Beau and Jonathan, is it nice to do a show without contestants?
Beau: I like contestants.
Jonathan: Well, I have to put up with these two…
Blair: Yeah, and he can’t vote us off. There is no Tribal Council. I’m used to being on my own in a shed [filming YouTube series Mighty Car Mods]…
Jonathan: I thought it was in your mother’s basement.
Blair: From the very beginning I thought as long as the three of us are tight, then I know the show will be OK. I liked it. Maybe they hated it.
Beau: You speak for yourself! No, we are pretty much best friends. We are like brothers.
Who is The Stig in Top Gear Australia?
Joining the three new hosts is also a new Stig, and producers say that for the first time in the history of the show, the mysterious, helmeted and always silent professional driver is a woman. “This is a big deal,” says Blair. “She’s the best driver.” The Stig and their identity has always been a big part of the franchise, with the original managing to keep his identity a secret for seven years until outing himself. It’s expected this Aussie Stig will play a similar role to the original, like setting lap times. Asked how she felt about joining the team, The Stig declined to comment.
Stream Top Gear Australia on Paramount Plus from $9.99/mth, with a 7-day free trial.
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