Timothy "Tiff" Needell was a presenter on the original format of Top Gear from Series 17 in 1987 through to Series 45 in 2001. He would appear in over 236 episodes and was responsible for most of the professional driving scenes due to his Formula 1 background.
For a large part of Needell's tenure on the show, he was not a frequent presenter. As the show did not have such a heavy focus on performance vehicles until the 1990s, he was only brought on sparingly for this purpose. Despite this, he was the third most-frequently appearing presenter in Series 21. It would take until the 27th series before he became a part of the main cast.
Towards the end of his tenure and following the departure of main host Jeremy Clarkson, he became the show's main host from Series 41 in March 1999 through to the cancellation of the original format in August 2001. After the show's cancellation, he would enter talks with Richard Pearson, a producer and director who had left the BBC for Channel 5 in order to produce Fifth Gear, which would begin airing in April 2002. He would be joined by three other former presenters of Top Gear, leaving only Jason Barlow to present the final episode on his own.
At the time of his departure in 2001, he was the longest serving host of the show. As of 2019 he remains the 2nd most frequently appearing host.
After Ben Collins' sudden departure from his role as The Stig in 2010, Needell would take the role of "Emergency Stig" for the premiere episode of Series 16. In 2019, he was named the 5th greatest Top Gear host of all time, behind Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and Chris Harris.
| Full list of appearances | |
|---|---|
| 1977 format | |
| Series 17 | 4 episodes (8 total) |
| Series 18 | 4 episodes (12 total) |
| Series 19 | 3 episodes (8 total) |
| Series 20 | 5 episodes (9 total) |
| Series 21 | 5 episodes (8 total) |
| Series 22 | 3 episodes (11 total) |
| Series 23 | 4 episodes (8 total) |
| Series 24 | 3 episodes (10 total) |
| Series 25 | 4 episodes (10 total) |
| Series 26 | 4 episodes (14 total) |
| Series 27 | 5 episodes (11 total) |
| Series 28 | 5 episodes (13 total) |
| Series 29 | 9 episodes (17 total) |
| Series 30 | 7 episodes (16 total) |
| Series 31 | 5 episodes (11 total) |
| Series 32 | 7 episodes (13 total) |
| Series 33 | 6 episodes (13 total) |
| Series 34 | 8 episodes (14 total) |
| Series 35 | 6 episodes (14 total) |
| Series 36 | 6 episodes (14 total) |
| Series 37 | 10 episodes (20 total) |
| Series 38 | 11 episodes (16 total) |
| Series 39 | 8 episodes (13 total) |
| Series 40 | 13 episodes (15 total) |
| Series 41 | 11 episodes (12 total) |
| Series 42 | 11 episodes (13 total) |
| Series 43 | 18 episodes |
| Series 44 | 13 episodes (15 total) |
| Series 45 | 36 episodes (37 total) |
| 2002 format | |
| Series 16 | 1 episode (6 total) |
Italicised rows indicate a series where this cast member was a guest or recurring host and not part of the main presenting team. Bold rows indicate a series where they were the main host.
Filmography[]
As part of Top Gear:
- Top Gear: Super Cars (1994)
- Top Gear: Fast and Furious (1997)
- Top Gear: Fast and Furious 2 (2000)
As an independent producer:
- Tiff Needell: Burning Rubber (2001)
- Tiff Needell: 20 Cars That Changed the World (2002 - with archive footage from Top Gear)
With Jeremy Clarkson:
- Clarkson: Head to Head (1999)
- Clarkson: Duel (2009 - with Vicki Butler-Henderson)
| Cast of Top Gear | |
|---|---|
| Present Cast | Chris Harris | Freddie Flintoff | Paddy McGuinness | The Stig |
| Former Cast (2002 format) | Sabine Schmitz | Eddie Jordan | Rory Reid | Matt LeBlanc | Chris Evans | James May | Richard Hammond | Jeremy Clarkson | Ben Collins | Top Gear Stunt Man | Top Gear Dog | Perry McCarthy | Jason Dawe |
| Former Cast (1977 format) | Andy Wilman | Jason Barlow | Tiff Needell | Vicki Butler-Henderson | Adrian Simpson | Quentin Willson | Kate Humble | Steve Berry | Julia Bradbury | Brendan Coogan | Tony Mason | Michele Newman | Jon Bentley | Chris Goffey | Janet Trewin | Nicky Fox | Steve Lee | William Woollard | Sue Baker | Beki Adam | Tom Boswell | Vic Allan | Frank Page | Peter Burgess | Bob Friend | Judith Jackson | Stewart Woodcock | Noel Edmonds | Mike Dornan | Gill Pyrah | Barrie Gill | Angela Rippon | Presenters with less than 5 appearances |