Monday 8th April 2002

The British TV show Fifth Gear was first broadcast as 5th Gear on Channel 5, as a continuation of the original incarnation of the BBC show Top Gear, which was cancelled in 2001. Top Gear was relaunched later that year; Channel 5 originally wanted to carry on using the Top Gear name, but the BBC refused. Several of Top Gear’s ex-presenters, including Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell, and Vicki Butler-Henderson were hired by Channel 5 to present the series. The show’s name was restyled as Fifth Gear in 2005.