JEREMY Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May landed in Whitby, as they brought their new show, The Grand Tour, to its first stop in the UK - and brought the sight of comedia Jimmy Carr riding a jetski in the harbour to the town.

The presenters and a large production crew were in the North Yorkshire coastal town for two days to film the new series, which reportedly has a budget of £160m.

The show’s motoring antics were kept secret as filming took place before a live audience inside a giant tent erected in the Endeavour Wharf car park, but a stuntman was seen falling from Whitby’s swing bridge.

On Friday, comedian Carr turned up to film scene in which he rode a jetski from the harbour up the river.

The Northern Echo:

A stuntman then took over as the jetski was crashed into a pleasure cruiser, with a dramatic explosion following.

The Northern Echo:

When Clarkson visited Whitby and the Esk Valley while road testing a BMW i8 last year he said the location had been chosen because “you get the best fish and chips in the world there”.

May and Clarkson have previously hailed meals from family-run restaurant Mr Chips, in Church Street.

Ahead of filming, May tweeted: "Fancy cod 'n' chips @RichardHammond @JeremyClarkson?" to which Clarkson replied: "@MrJamesMay I'm up for that. Whitby?"

The visit to Whitby is the first time they have filmed in North Yorkshire since Clarkson punched Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon at Simonstone Hall Hotel near Hawes last year. A fracas which appeared to have started when he could not order steak because the kitchen had closed and which led to him being fired from the hit television show.

A new trailer for the highly anticipated show was released last week in which Clarkson, May and Hammond are billed as three friends on an "adventure".

It features the trio in exotic locations, with the ex-Top Gear presenters joking that they have only had a "minor fire" when a stunt goes wrong.

The stars are seen speeding around race tracks, flying over the desert - and trying but failing to entice a camel up a ramp.

They have already filmed in South Africa and the US for the show, which will be broadcast on Amazon Prime and are also due to visit Finland and the Netherlands later on.

Jay Marine, vice president of Amazon Video Europe announced at the end of last month that the first UK stop would be Whitby, saying: “Our first UK stop on The Grand Tour will be the historic North Yorkshire town of Whitby, so we invite fans to get in early to join Jeremy, Richard and James for thrills, spills and fish and chips by the seaside.”

• The first episode of The Grand Tour launches on November 18 on Amazon Prime Video.