At short notice, Merton hosted the first episode after Deayton's departure, with a series of guest hosts appearing for the remainder of the series, including Anne Robinson, Boris Johnson, and Jeremy Clarkson. Despite an initial search for a permanent successor to Deayton, having a different guest host each week proved successful, with average audience figures increasing from 6 million to 7 million, leading to it becoming a permanent feature in the programme's format in June 2003.
