Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
And on That Bombshell cover art

And on That Bombshell

By: Richard Porter
Narrated by: Richard Porter, Ben Elliot
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

On the Edge cover art
Diddly Squat cover art
Variable Valve Timings cover art
Flat Out Flat Broke cover art
Carbolics cover art
As You Do cover art
Car Fever cover art
Grease Junkie cover art
James May's 20th Century cover art
How Not to Be a Professional Racing Driver cover art
Or Is That Just Me? cover art
The Top Gear Story cover art
The Grand Tour cover art
The Way I Heard It cover art
You're Lucky You're Funny cover art
Clanlands cover art

Summary

For 13 years, 22 series and 175 shows, Richard Porter was script editor of Top Gear, from the first faltering pilot episode in 2002 until the very last show presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May in 2015.

Along the way they destroyed cars, sparked diplomatic incidents, set fire to caravans, almost killed one of the presenters, and somehow transformed Top Gear from a shabby BBC Two motoring show into an Emmy-winning, record-breaking, planet-straddling behemoth.

And on That Bombshell tells stories from behind the scenes of one of the world's most successful television programmes, taking in driving monkeys, broken bones, flying cars, angry rednecks and Jeremy Clarkson's secret nickname.

Richard Porter provides a unique insight into how the programmes were made, revealing behind-the-scenes disasters more comical than anything seen on screen and explaining what it was like to work inside the self-professed 'poky motoring show' that accidentally became a global phenomenon.

Read by Ben Elliot and with an introduction read by the author.

©2015 Richard Porter (P)2015 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about And on That Bombshell

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    464
  • 4 Stars
    133
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    399
  • 4 Stars
    129
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    416
  • 4 Stars
    115
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

I rejoined Audible after some 4 years away just so that I could listen to this book! And well worth it was too. Great narrative by Richard Porter who painted a very real picture of what it's like to work on Top Gear, what worked, what didn't work, and what was a lot more hassle than it was worth!

The only criticism I would dare to level at it is the length, it could have easily been twice as long and told a lot more stories from their travels, but Richard is a busy man!

Looking forward to the next one detailing life on the Grand Tour!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but it feels like it was rushed

The stories is interesting and well performed. However, the way the book is laid out doesn't always seem to flow from chapter to chapter very well and some of the anecdotes are a bit weak. It has the feeling of an essay that needs redrafting before submission and I wonder if this was due to rushing to get it out the door while top gear was fresh in minds.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • m
  • 10-11-15

Great for TG fans

As a big TG fan, though under few illusions over what the cast are actually like, there were no great surprises there.

Some fun and interesting behind the scenes stories, though others conspicuously absent in any detail - eg the arctic trip. If you like the off-the-wall witticisms of top gear, we are left in no doubt that Mr Porter is responsible for many. "Drowning in kittens"....haha. I guess the biggest disappointment is in being left wanting more. This is not the book's fault of course...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Great book for fans of top gear. Loved the insight and behind the scenes look into this great show.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good insight in TG

An excellent insight into some of the most memorable parts of the best television car show in the...............world!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

what a bombshell!

I have loved Top Gear forever, and followed Clarkson, Hammond and May on their other shows, and listening to this was a great insight into the hidden world behind the camera. Porter wrote it perfectly and Elliot was a joy to listen to. Very funny and I had some proper laugh out loud moments, especially while driving.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Production insights

Great look into making the best TV show since Blackadder, or maybe Bottom ? Or only fools and horses !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The story

I loved everything especially getting to understand lots of things an average top gear fan wouldn’t know

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Insight

You can tell this author worked at Top Gear, same sense of humour, comes across throughout the book. If you love Top Gear you'll love this book. Great read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A hilarious insight into a favourite childhood programme

Richard is an amazing story teller - it’s great to hear so much about a programme that was its own cultural phenomenon

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!