Meet The New Host Of Top Gear

It’s a changing of the guard at the BBC! The British broadcaster has just confirmed a new host and a new timeline for when we’ll be seeing fresh episodes of Top Gear. So who is it?

It’s Chris Evans!

(No, not the guy who plays Captain America.)

The 49-year old presenter was announced as the host of a new-look Top Gear this morning. Evans is set to lead a new line-up of hosts which is still to be announced. Evans had been linked to the Top Gear job for weeks before the announcement, and even interviewed Jeremy Clarkson on BBC Radio before the announcement.

Evans harks from the world of radio, but still has a passionate love of cars and Top Gear. He’s appeared a number of times on the program over the years, also taking part in a Top Gear Live show challenge that involved him stepping into the back of a 500 horsepower London black cab piloted by the infamous Stig.

In a statement, Evans said made a pledge not to trash Clarkson’s legacy:

I’m thrilled, Top Gear is my favourite programme of all time. Created by a host of brilliant minds who love cars and understand how to make the massively complicated come across as fun, devil-may-care and effortless. When in fact, of course, it’s anything but and that’s the genius of Top Gear’s global success.

I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward.

The BBC said it would be bringing new episodes of the world’s most popular motoring show to air in the next few weeks.

Evans got the job after former host Jeremy Clarkson punched his way into unemployment following a fracas with a producer on the show. The BBC took it as an opportunity to revamp Top Gear, hence the addition of Evans.

Since Clarkson’s departure, there has been speculation as to the fate of the other co-hosts, James May and Richard Hammond. It’s unclear as to whether they will join Chris Evans in the new line-up, but both have repeatedly expressed their reluctance to re-join the show without Jeremy Clarkson.

Check out some of Chris Evans’ work on Top Gear below.

Lost Episodes To Air As Compilation

When Clarkson was sacked, several episodes of the show’s 22nd season were put on hold, with their air dates left in the balance. With the Evans announcement comes the news that fans of Jeremy, Richard and James will be able to watch the last few episodes crammed into one big compilation episode to air on June 28.

Here’s the trailer:

The studio links for the episode will only feature James May and Richard Hammond, as Jeremy Clarkson had been sacked already by the time they needed to be recorded.

Here’s what we’ll see according to the BBC:

The first film sees Jeremy, Richard and James living the lifestyle of traditional classic car buffs, acquiring a Fiat 124 Spyder, Peugeot 304 Cabriolet and MGB GT before setting off an adventure incorporating brown beer, breakdowns (inevitably) and attending a car show where everything goes wrong.

In the second film, our intrepid trio attempt to become ‘lifestyle leisure enthusiasts’ with the help of some very ratty old 4x4s.

Armed with a budget of just £250, the boys each purchase a high-mileage, low-quality SUV – Clarkson a Vauxhall Frontera, Hammond a Jeep Cherokee and May a Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin – before embarking on a series of gruelling challenges, including a battle with the Stig’s Leisure Activity Cousin, which climaxes with a race that has a terrifying penalty for the person who loses.

What do you think of Chris Evans as Top Gear host? Tell us in the comments!


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