It’s official: BBC Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans will now be the new presenter of “Top Gear,” an appointment supported by Clarkson, Hammond and May.
Evans explained how he came into the new role during the June 17, 2015 edition of his morning show, Top Gear magazine reports, which began with a phone call last Wednesday from BBC Entertainment chief Mark Linsey.
During the phone call, Evans learned Richard Hammond and James May would not be returning to the show after all following the dismissal of Jeremy Clarkson, and was asked if he would take up where they and former producer Andy Wilman left off. He had previously stayed out of what he called “a chess game” involving all three of his friends, preferring to let the matter resolve itself.
Once the situation changed, Evans deliberated with “TFI Friday” sidekick Will MacDonald his wife Natasha for a day on the proposal, deciding to accept the role after taking into account his long career in radio and television.
Prior to the announcement, Evans contacted his friends. May said he would “talk about things” with him over the next few days, Clarkson gave him his best wishes — and a piece of advice Evans couldn’t say on the air — and Hammond texted Evans was “designed and built” to host “Top Gear.”
As for who will join Evans when production begins in the next few weeks, he says one of his co-presenters would “definitely, 100 percent” be female, The Telegraph notes. His contract is for three years, and will pay £3 million ($4.7 million USD).
[Photo credit: Paul Williams/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0]
It also looks like Clarkson, Hamster and May will ink a deal with Netflix any day now.
If that happens (and I hope it does), I predict the old show (i.e., the one now hosted by Mr. Evans and eventual others) will last about one season at most.
FAIL
I won’t be watching it.
I’ll be shooting my own videos lol.
FAIL
I won’t be watching them ;)
I’ll have 10 million views, 10,000 subs by summer’s end.
Currently earning a little over $1000 a month.
Disposable cash which I use to buy stocks in my Scottrade portfolio for even MOAR money.
I’ll try not to miss you
Many things get a lot of hits. The worse it is, the better. I watched one and it was just more of you $ucking your own d!ck.
Do you kiss your mother with that tongue? Lighten up Francis.
I know I say that a lot to all the pompous, self romancing comments from people I know. Most are chicks.
DenverMike:
When you start getting Youtube checks like these, you’ll understand what I do and why I do what I do – the way I do it.
I’d pay $1,000 a month to not have to be a pompous A$$.
CJinSD – “Do you kiss your mother with that tongue?”
Am I the only one that finds that comment disturbing?
Don’t recall ever having the urge to use my tongue when kissing my mother.
Lou_BC, I’d have found it disturbing had I not gotten an e-card urging that I enjoy celebrating the day my face rubbed my mothers vagina this week.
Btsr..So you get a dime a sub or a penny every 1000 views.
Ego TV at its finest.
The internet, a vast wasteland of disinformation. …
DenverMike – not often I agree with you…this time I agree.
I like that someone thinks $1000 a month is worth mentioning. It’s cute.
It may turn out to be a better show if they try some new ideas. Their “challenges” and “road trips” were getting repetitive and boring. Maybe Sabine Schmidt could be the new Stig’ette’.
They pretty much have no choice but go in another direction. Any attempt to recreate the old Top Gear will result in instant fail.
Especially if they are competing against old TG on Netflix.
Either way its a win-win in my book – more shows about cars is a good thing.
Top Gear is over, only the BBC doesn’t know it yet.
In my opinion, what has been so good about Top Gear is the production values. The videos of the car reviews and the location shots simply look beautiful, and make for great TV. My guess is that most dialog in the show was written by staff writers and not the hosts.
So, as far as I’m concerned they could have a mule, a monkey and a cat presenting and wouldn’t make much difference.
I agree with this. Even in its early seasons the money spent on production made Top Gear stand out. The filming, effects and writing helped (then new) Top Gear really take off. If Clarkson/Hammond/May/Wilman don’t have a big production budget I give them less chance of success than (newest) Top Gear.
Not really. Clarkson and Wilman made Top Gear, which had been a moribund BBC production, that BBC had slated for cancelation.
“Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman successfully pitched a new format for Top Gear to the BBC, reversing a previous decision to cancel the programme in 2001. The new series was first broadcast in 2002. Instea….”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(2002_TV_series)
Sure the production values Clarkson instituted are great, but Clarkson is pretty much the brand.
Agreed. The location shots light up my HD TV like no other show.
That’s cool, still won’t be watching it. I only watched Top Gear because of Clarkson to begin with so barring them getting someone as good or better than him I have no interest in watching it. May and Hammond know this too which is why they bet on the right horse and left with him.
I wasn’t the only one who hoped this meant that Captain America was going to be on Top Gear was I?
Top Gear was getting more than a little long in the tooth. It was in real danger of becoming “The Three Stooges with Cars.” Clarksons routines were predictable and frankly a little tiresome. I think all involved needed a change. Hopefully a new Top Gear will be just as entertaining but different and the proposed new Netflix show will likewise be good. Too Much To Hope For?
I think you nailed it. It’s highly ironic that the majority of Top Gear related commentary was complaining about how tired and repetitive the show was, until the recent drama unfolded.
While the criticisms weren’t altogether unfounded, all we seem to hear now is how without those same three old dudes, the show can’t hope to succeed and no-one will watch it.
First – I’d be very surprised if more than a handful of folks here know anything much about Chris Evans or have experienced him in action.
Second – to succeed, Top Gear needs to engage it’s domestic audience first and foremost. That’s where the vibe comes from, the momentum, the collective “gelling” of the hosts.
Third – as folks here used to observe, Top Gear was in need of an update and now it’s going to get it.
I see no down side to any of this. We’ll still get the three old dudes on Netflix. We may be stuck waiting for episodes of new Top Gear, may get “region appropriate” edits again. We may not like it as much, but I look forward to seeing how they decide to rethink it.
cpthaddock – I fully agree that the “Top Gear” recipe had gotten stale or at least Clarkson’s vision of that recipe.
Chris Evans is saying that one of the co-presenters is a woman then that indicates that the BBC is going in a new direction.
BBC and the new presenters need to remember that the reason Top Gear was successful was because it is a comedy show tied together by cars.
Based on what I remember from when he was a guest, he should be great on that show. I assume Britain has castles and TV presenters everywhere; there’s lots of old Top Gear and Men & Motors hosts that could be good in this capacity. After all, that’s exactly where Clarkson, May and Hammond came from.
If they hire Rebecca Jackson, I’ll watch. She’s a genuine racing driver, and somebody who’s really into cars, in addition to being a good broadcaster. That’s the reason so many of these shows fail. The cast are either TV personalities that don’t actually know anything about cars, or they are car people who are horrible on TV.
Rebecca can do both. If they hire some phony who’s just there to look good, forget it.
Also, Harrismonkey.
Harry Metcalfe, Rebecca Jackson and Chris Harris and now you might have a show that I would watch.
plus one on Chris Harris, legit driver, passionate reviewer
Rebecca Jackson. *sigh*
I’d like to see Rebecca come to the US and run ARCA. I think she’d set that series on it’s ear in couple of years.
Back on topic…
Ditto the rest. Without Clarkson, Top Gear is extinct.
Can’t stand Chris Evans. Top Gear is Top Gear because of the trio. It won’t be Top Gear.
While I agree that the production value was part of Top Gear’s success, it was mainly the the three presenters.
Just look at Top Gear America. Same production values, but nigh unwatchable due to the presenters…
Does anyone remember “The Car Show”, I considered it our best domestic effort. Adam Carola, and the Shrek looking dude from Drive web casts,cant remember his name, much better than US Top Gear.
This all has me very curious as to when Clarkson was initially approached by Netflix.
The conspiracy theorist in me wonders whether this hasn’t all been Kabuki theater to get Clarkson out from under his old BBC contract.