Netflix says overpriced Top Gear boys simply aren’t ‘worth the cash’

It was a shock to hear how much Amazon Prime is paying for the Top Gear boys to hit the small screen again.

Yup, for those that don't know it's coughing up an astonishing €220m for 36 episodes – which is enough to make anyone's eyes water. 

Understandably, the boys seem to be delighted to be back on the road (hey, so would we), but they have certainly caused a lot of controversy in doing so. 

In an interview with Digital Spy, Netflix's influential Neil Hunt said bluntly that Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were simply not worth that amount of cash.

It had been rumoured that the streaming service was interesting in signing up the former BBC stars for a Netflix original series, but evidently it wasn't willing to hand over a blank cheque.

"We have past episodes of Top Gear, so we have a pretty good gauge of what audiences like. Our buying decisions tend to be somewhat data-driven," Mr Hunt explained.

"We have a lot of data to get the deals we want, so there we go.

"Clearly it wasn't worth the money to make the deal… I think they sold themselves for way more money than they're worth."

You may think he sounds bitter, but Neil does have a point: the new, as yet unnamed show will have to fork out €6m for every episode that airs. 

Whether Amazon Prime paid too much for the trio of presenters in question will remain unknown until the new show airs next year.