Nicholas Hoult (DFree/Bigstock.com)

If there was such a thing as breakdown recovery for flagging TV shows, then one might make an urgent call on behalf of Top Gear, whose latest instalment was rather underwhelming.

Top Gear is perhaps a guilty pleasure for some us: we enjoy seeing Clarkson say politically incorrect things and criticise his fellow presenters' automotive tastes. Or we may simply sit on our sofas and quietly berate him for his multiple faux pas – an activity that is equally enjoyable.

But the most recent episode was lacking Clarkson's usual verve.

Last week, for instance, he had a go at anyone and everyone who had ever used public transport. What do we get this week? A Clarkson that appears to need some time out after recent (and highly entertaining) jaunts to the Canadian Rockies and North Africa.

The short section in Spain gave a glimmer of the old excitement, but James May's foray into Kent to rally race a man called Tanner Foust was rather flat. Foust turned out to be a Top Gear USA host; a man with all the visual denim-clad pizazz of a Stateside Clarkson, but with none of his insulting charm.

The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment might have improved matters, but with the come-and-meet-my-granny blandness of Nicholas Hoult behind the wheel, this was never going to happen.

Yes, this seventh episode never really got out of first gear, while hitting top gear was little more than a pipe dream. Hopefully the team can get back on form next week.

What did you think of Top Gear's seventh outing of the season? Let us know in the comment section.