The beleagured BBC has struck a deal with Polyphony Digital that will allow the developer to make episodes of Top Gear available through the Gran Turismo (GT) TV media service.

The move will mean that 40 episodes of the programme - showing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May's vehicular exploits - will be available for download via the channel, which is set to launch on the PlayStation Network sometime next year.

Getting BBC content onto the PS3 is certainly a coup for Sony, especially given that Microsoft has yet to get its act together with a video on demand (VOD) service in the UK.

"We at Polyphony are great fans of the world's best motoring programme, Top Gear, so we're delighted to be collaborating with BBC Worldwide to deliver Top Gear content via Gran Turismo”, Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi stated. Who knew that a bunch of chaps who seem like your Dad's oddball mates had such global appeal?

The BBC is also allowing Polyphony to include Top Gear's famous test track to be included in GT5. Could this be the move that convinces middle-aged Dads up and down the country to rush out and buy PS3's in balding droves?

The Gran Turismo series has featured in Top Gear before, with Clarkson having tried to beat his time speeding a real Honda NSX around the Californian Laguna Seca race track with the same car in the game. He was faster in the game, if you were wondering.

Alas, GT5 still looks to be a long way off, with a vague mention of a 2008 release having been made by Sony. In the meantime, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue should be out by the end of the year.