The popularity of the show shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has watched TG over the years. The BBC often bragged about how many viewers TG had worldwide when that trio were the hosts. I think they said it was the most watched show on TV worldwide, though we often hear over-inflated stats like that from various media. TG was better though. The format of GT has them spending too much time in the tent around the table. TG had very little airport time, mostly relying on their field videos. GT is mostly my car is better than yours, captain Slow. TG had a lot of silly video stunts that served no purpose but were very entertaining. If they keep this current format, I doubt I'll keep watching for long, it will get tired quickly.