Top Gear Returns To Our Screens This Sunday

With the same name, but quite possibly a different format, Top Gear returns with Chris Evans and co fronting the popular BBC show which hits our screens at 9pm on Sunday.

What’s New On Top Gear?

After Jeremey Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May departed the show at the end of their contracts following Clarkson’s controversial fracas with producer Oisin Tymon, the BBC recruited six new presenters. Spearheaded by Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans and former Friends star Matt Le Blanc, the new team also includes racing driver Sabine Schmitz, journalist Rory Reid, YouTuber Chris Harris, and F1 pundit Eddie Jordan. They will of course also be joined by the Stig. This time the series will only run for six episodes as oppose to the previous eight.

Who Are The New Top Gear Presenters?

Chris Evans is best known for his presenting work, and the 50-year-old is the current presenter of BBC Radio 2 having previously hosted BBC’s the One Show. Matt Le Blanc, made famous for his role as Joey Tribbiani in American sitcom Friends, has also starred in BBC show Episodes. The 48-year-old is reportedly a keen petrol head. Sabine Schmitz, the only woman in the new line-up, is a German professional racing driver. The 46-year-old is probably best known to the British public for her guest appearances on the show, which involved racing a Ford Transit around the Nurburgring.

Fans of Formula 1 will know Eddie Jordan well. Currently a pundit, the 68-year-old owned an F1 team in the 1990s. Rory Reid is a British journalist who specialises in motoring and technology, and he’s no stranger to television work having presented Sky TV’s Gadget Geeks in 2011. Last but not least, Reid is joined by fellow journalist Chris Harris. The 41-year-old has previously worked for Autocar and Evo magazine as well as presenting his own YouTube channel called /CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS.

What Cars Can We Expect To See?

A number of exciting fast cars can be seen in the new Top Gear trailers. The Aston Martin Vulcan is shown going flat out at Abu Dhabi GP circuit and a Ferrari 250 GT is seen driving through hills. The new Jaguar F-Pace, a Ford Mustang and a Chevrolet Corvette have also featured in trailers for the new series. Both Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc were also snapped outside of the BBC centre in London with Reliant Robins painted in the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes of the American flag.

New Behind The Scenes Show

A new spin-off show hosted by new Top Gear presenters Rory Reid and Chris Harris will broadcast immediately on BBC Three, following the regular show. It will feature new footage, interviews, and specially recorded films according to the Top Gear website. Reid said: “The Top Gear fans are some of the keenest in the world and with this show I’m giving them a chance to really get a peek behind the curtain. I’m looking forward to showing them how the show is made and what goes on behind the scenes, giving viewers a different perspective on some of the coolest cars on the planet.”

Top Gear Caught In Controversy Already

New presenter Matt Le Blanc was seen performing a stunt near the Cenotaph memorial, in a high powered Ford Mustang. Colonel Richard Kemp slammed the show telling the Telegraph: “It is gravely disrespectful. It beggars belief that they were ever allowed to film here. This is a sacred tribute to millions of people who have done far more for their country than Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc ever will. The BBC certainly should not have done this in the first place and I would urge them to make sure this does not appear in the final programme." The BBC defended the show with a spokesman saying: ““The filming took place a respectful distance away from the Cenotaph and it was all agreed with Westminster council in advance.”

George Osborne was apparently disrupted whilst writing the budget by Top Gear filming an episode near Downing Street, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer tweeting: "Trying to write my Budget, despite noisy episode of @BBC-TopGear being filmed outside on Horseguards Parade. Keep it down please @achrisevans."

The First Recording

Audience members for the first studio recording of the new series were left unimpressed after the recording lasted much longer than they were told it would. They were reportedly told filming would be finished by 4pm, but it carried on into the early hours of the evening, as Matt Le Blanc and Evans allegedly had to retake lines, according to the Independent. However, according to Evans, while the audience were told the show would only take an hour, the presenters weren’t.

Clarkson Wishes New Top Gear Show Well

The Independent reported that former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has wished the show success, claiming he gets paid every time the show gets recommissioned. We’ll see Clarkson and his former Top Gear hosts back with a brand new programme yet to be named in autumn, on Amazon Prime.

Will It Be As Successful?

When making significant changes to a cult show like Top Gear, with a worldwide fan base, and millions of viewers every week, there are always going to be those that love it and those that don’t. Whatever the initial reports we, like millions of others, are looking forward to tuning in on Sunday so we can see for ourselves!