Top Gear's back - get ready to be offended

The three Top Gear presenters sit by camp fire in Tierra del Fuego, Chile.

Jeremy Clarkson and his fellow Top Gear presenters may have been forced to flee Argentina after causing offence to locals while filming the series' Patagonia special, but it evidently hasn't dented the programme's global appeal.

The BBC show launched the 22nd series with a global simulcast last month, which saw it screen in more than 50 countries. Alas, New Zealand wasn't one of them - so, three weeks after the rest of the world, TV3 will start screening the new series tonight, beginning with the now infamous Patagonia episodes.

"Other globally popular television shows have cunning ways of launching their new seasons, such as world tours and the like, but I thought of an easier way to let the planet know we're back - the interweb," said Clarkson.

"Fond as I am of passport control queues and restricting my carry-on liquids to 100ml, I much preferred the idea of driving one mile from my home in London to celebrate this series with fans everywhere at the same time."

Top Gear is one of the BBC's most lucrative exports and one of the most-pirated programmes. The controversial Top Gear: Patagonia Special was the most popular show on BBC iPlayer over the Christmas period.

While filming the Patagonia special in Argentina the boys provoked anger because the number plate of a Porsche being driven by Clarkson - which read H982 FKL - was alleged to be a provocative reference to the 1982 Falklands conflict. The programme-makers have maintained the lettering on the number plate was an unfortunate coincidence.

Richard Hammond jokingly acknowledged last year's difficulties: "Even though this launch event means spending a Sunday evening with Jeremy, it's important that we remind everyone that Top Gear is back, because I feel we've been starved of attention lately. I'm looking forward to talking to fans from around the world and finding out what exactly appeals to them about watching three middle-aged men repeatedly fall over."

James May said: "Using the internet to talk to our fans from around the world is a brilliant idea. It's exactly what the internet is for. In fact, I'm not sure why I have to drive to a Victorian theatre and sit on an uncomfortable chair to do this. Someone hasn't thought this through."

Following on from the two-part special, the series will see the presenters head across the Russian city of St Petersburg, with May driving a Renault, Hammond using a bike and Clarkson in a hovercraft. The Stig will use public transport.

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran will feature as the star in a reasonably priced car section of the show, doing a lap of the Top Gear track despite having no driving licence.

When: Tonight, 7.30pm
Where: TV3
What: Changing lanes

- Independent