7 of 'Top Gear' Presenter Paddy McGuinness' Funniest Ever Moments
Top Gear is back with new episodes debuting Sundays at 8pm EST on BBC America. To whet your appetite, here's a reminder of some of the times hilarious co-host Paddy McGuinness – a regular on British TV for the last two decades – has really cracked us up. Once you're done chuckling, you can also check out our recent feature on fellow gearhead Freddie Flintoff's funniest moments.
1. The time he had to do a live TV interview on a massive hangover.
In 2015, McGuinness guested on daytime show Loose Women – essentially the U.K.'s version of The View – after a night of partying with the stars of British reality series Real Housewives of Cheshire. In fairness, he's super-lucid for someone who claims to have had only an hour-and-a-half of sleep!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U36UB7cimQ
2. The time he and Flintoff taught Chris Harris some Lancashire slang.
McGuinness and Flintoff both hail from the northern English county of Lancashire, but Harris is a "southerner" who grew up near London. It's no wonder, then, that Harris thinks his co-stars are chatting "gibberish" when they start talking about local delicacies such as a "Wigan kebab," which turns out to be pie served inside a bread roll.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS2pH0wlPks
3. All the times he chatted to contestants on Take Me Out.
McGuinness hosted eleven seasons of playful British dating show Take Me Out, which aired Saturday nights on the ITV network from 2010 to 2019. Take Me Out's vibe was fun and flirtatious, but the show always aired before the watershed, so McGuinness had to make sure his banter was lightly suggestive rather than overtly risqué. As this YouTube compilation shows, it's a tricky balancing act that he pulls off very well indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg6tXiWCQ1M&t=39s
4. The time Flintoff and Harris tried to help him out a bind... and didn't quite succeed.
In this hilarious clip from the new season of Top Gear, McGuinness's vehicle gets stuck in a water hazard and his co-presenters gallantly decide to come to his rescue. But sadly, McGuinness doesn't think to shut his window first...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCNOeTUALrc&t=42s
5. The time he and Peter Kay couldn't stop corpsing.
Early in his career, McGuinness was given a leg up the fame ladder by his childhood friend Peter Kay, who cast him in the hit comedy series That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights, and Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. In this outtake from the latter, the two friends can't hold in their laughter when co-star Craig Cheetham makes an extremely distinctive sound with his teeth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-aFs4yBygk
6. The time he brilliantly spoofed Dirty Dancing.
McGuinness teamed up with comedian Keith Lemon in 2009 for an episode of Let's Dance for Comic Relief, a fun BBC One show in which celebrities perform famous dance routines to raise money for charity. McGuinness and Lemon recreated Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey's iconic performance scene from Dirty Dancing and their lifts are actually pretty darn impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygToBqK60XU
7. And finally, the time he proved he can really laugh at himself.
When McGuinness and Flintoff joined Harris on Top Gear last year, they gamely agreed to answer questions sourced from the internet. All three presenters are good sports, but McGuinness has to contend with the most savage question of all: "Why is Paddy McGuinness doing Top Gear?" Fortunately, he very much sees the funny side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQ9nDRJGQI
Do you have a favorite Paddy McGuinness moment?