Top Gear presenters have given Seventies pop classic Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) a new lease of life – after encouraging viewers to download it to help its singer pay a speeding fine.

Steve Harley, who had a number one hit with the track in 1975, was hit with a £1,000 penalty after he was clocked by a speed camera doing 70mph on the M25 in Kent in an area where the limit had been temporarily reduced to 40mph.

The track had entered the iTunes top 30 today after viewers of the BBC Two show – which returned last night – were encouraged to download the hit.

Steve Harley
Steve Harley could see sales of his hit take off again (Ian West/PA)

Presenter Jeremy Clarkson said on the show: “He’s ekeing a meagre living out of, let’s be honest, one hit single. Everybody loves that song – you can’t trust someone who doesn’t like that song.”

Richard Hammond said: “Imagine if everybody did it – he would wake up tomorrow and think ‘I’m number one, where did that come from?’ It would cheer him up.”