Top Gear (BBC Two, Sunday, 22 June, 9pm) really is ludicrously good. Within seconds of the show kicking off, Clarkson made a joke about “no, you’re not watching Dave” before adding “and if this is a repeat, then let’s have a look back at the summer of 2008 series”. This incident is the only time I can remember a show starting a new series with a recap of stuff we haven’t seen yet. It might not seem much, but it’s this playful anarchy that makes Top Gear so brilliant to watch.

Of course, such gentle ribbing of us wasn’t enough. Hell no. The opening segment of the show was dedicated to making a mockery of the BBC and the current fuel crisis. They sniggered as they ‘proved’ that a BMW M3 was more economical than… some supposed eco-trundler. However, the big news was a new member of the team…

We all knew about the new member didn’t we? We’d even mentioned it. Breath, up and down the country, was bated. Or is that baited? I’ve no idea. Either way, the wags at Top Gear made us wait 30 minutes to meet… Top Gear Stuntman. That’s right, this new guy is a mix of The Stig (high speeds) and Saxondale (portly, unkempt). His opening gambit? To drive an old car really fast up a ramp and jump over loads of other cars… in reverse. Dammit. I don’t know if you noticed that my last sentence, I ‘spoke’ like Jeremy Clarkson. Goodgollymissmolly, I told you this show was an infectious show.

The guests on this new opener were Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr. Now, as I’m in a rare mood (notably, a good mood), I won’t slag JLC. Suffice to say, they were the stars in a reasonably priced car. They raced, it was fun and Alan Carr won. A nice analogy for their careers I feel (sadly, that last point was the only reason I included a mention of the pair… and there’s you believing that I was a) In a good mood and b) a reasonably good writer).

Anyway, I’m falling for that ‘just repeat everything that was on the show’ style of writing. Suffice to say, Top Gear came back with a guffaw as opposed to a bang. There was no grand challenge that left you gobsmacked… which is no bad thing as the trio were on fire with the wit and gags… on return, it may have been one of the funniest episodes of Top Gear I’ve ever seen. Fantastic stuff.