'Top Of The Pops' For TV Return? BBC Boss Reveals Hope To Revive Music Show With 'Top Gear'-Style Revamp

'Top Of The Pops' Set For 'Top Gear'-Style Revamp?
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Top Of The Pops’ could be about to return to TV, but with a fresh twist.

A BBC boss has revealed his hopes to revive the iconic music series, inspired by the successful revamp ‘Top Gear’ had when it was brought back in 2002.

The broadcaster’s director of music, Bob Shennan told The Telegraph (via The Mirror) of his hopes to bring back ‘TOTP’, following the massive success of the recent Adele special on BBC One.

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'Top Of The Pops' presenters Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton

“‘Top Gear’ was reborn and reinvented to be about much, much more than cars,” he said.

"I guess that's a good analogy for what we're talking about. We're not just talking about straight music; we're talking about extra elements and uniqueness.

However, Bob said that it would not return in its traditional weekly slot, saying: "If just bringing back ‘Top Of The Pops’ was such a straightforward and obvious thing to do, somebody on some channel would have done it.

"The challenge is to find a new way to bring it to mainstream audiences. We're going to have to find a new twist," he said, adding that any potential show would have a new name.

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Former 'TOTP' hosts Jamie Theakston, Zoe Ball and Dermot O'Leary

His comments come just days after BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra controller Ben Cooper called for the return of ‘Top Of The Pops’, which originally aired between 1964 and 2006.

He told The Independent that with ‘The Voice’ moving to ITV in 2017, the BBC had the chance to bring back a “youth music weekly programme to prime time BBC”.

“You want a moment that will feature on 'Gogglebox', that family-on-the-sofa moment."

‘Top Of The Pops’ still airs annual festive specials, with this year’s editions set to air on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, hosted by Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates.

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2001TV presenters Stephen Mullen and Fearne Cotton arriving at the British Academy Children's Film & Television Awards (credit:PA)
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2002CBBC presenter Fearne Cotton arriving at the British Academy Children's Film & Television Awards (credit:PA)
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2003Fearne Cotton at The Madhatter's Teaparty at the Grosvenor House Hotel (credit:PA)
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2003Fearne Cotton gets ready to enter the Fame Academy House in aid of Comic Relief. (credit:PA)
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2003Fearne Cotton after she was evicted from Comic Relief Does Fame Academy (credit:PA)
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2004Fearne Cotton arriving at the EMMA Awards (credit:PA)
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2004TV presenter Fearne Cotton arrives for the MOBO Awards (credit:PA)
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2004V presenter Fearne Cotton attends the British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards (credit:PA)
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2005Fearne Cotton arriving at the Elle Style Awards (credit:PA)
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2005Fearne Cotton arriving at the Glamour Magazine Women of the Year Awards (credit:PA)
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2005Fearne Cotton arriving at the GQ Men of the Year Awards (credit:PA)
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2006Fearne Cotton attending the Casanova film premiere (credit:PA)
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2006The UK Premiere Of Alien Autopsy (credit:PA)
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2006Fearne Cotton arriving at the National Television Awards (credit:PA)
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2007Fearne Cotton at The launch of Red Nose Day (credit:PA)
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2007Fearne Cotton arrives for the British Academy Television Awards, (credit:PA)
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2007Fearne Cotton arriving at the Glamour Magazine Awards (credit:PA)
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2007Fearne Cotton arrives at Cosmopolitan's Ultimate Women Of The Year Awards (credit:PA)
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2008Fearne Cotton arriving at the Brit Awards (credit:PA)
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2008Fearne Cotton arrives at the BT Digital Music Awards (credit:PA)
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2009Fearne Cotton arriving at the Brit Awards (credit:PA)
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2009Fearne Cotton poses for photographs at DreamVault gallery (credit:PA)
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