Jason Barlow

Jason Barlow
Barlow in 2001, during his tenure on the show. Here he is claiming that year's Specsavers award for "Spectacle Wearer of the Year".
Full name	Jason Barlow
Birthplace	Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland
Host of Top Gear
Version	United Kingdom
Debut	Series 44, Episode 1
Final Episode	Series 45, Episode 37
Appearances	52
Role - Main presenter
Preceded by	Tiff Needell
Succeeded by	Jeremy Clarkson

Jason Barlow was a presenter during the final days of Original format Top Gear. He was brought over from rival car show Driven in 2000, in much the same manner as fellow presenter James May had been obtained a year prior, and presented the final two series of the show.

He, albeit very briefly, became the main host of the show following the simultaneous departures of Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, and Adrian Simpson in late 2001, and was retained until the 22nd of March the following year, when it was officially announced Jeremy Clarkson was to return to the show after a three-year hiatus. As sole host, he presented the 2001 Top Gear Awards show in February 2002 before its reboot in October of that year.

Barlow was originally intended to return for the first series of the show's relaunch in late 2002, but did not get along with Clarkson and was replaced by Richard Hammond. As his contract with the BBC lasted until 2003, he was unable to leave for rival show Fifth Gear in the same way his former colleagues had done, and so presented a non-noteworthy car program entitled Wrong Car, Right Car, which aired for two series and is now lost in its entirety. This series was originally named Top Gear: Car Jack but was renamed prior to airing.

Following the expiration of his contract, Barlow remained at Top Gear in a print-only capacity, occasionally hosting automotive-related televised specials on channels such as Sky One in the mid-2000s, and has written many articles for Top Gear's associated magazine, a role which he continues to hold as of 2020.