Chris Evans is new Top Gear host

THE BBC has announced that Chris Evans will take over Jeremy Clarkson’s role on Top Gear. The seasoned presenter’s TV career resurgence has been building with a long-term place on the tea-time hit The One Show, and last week’s one-off return of the immensely popular 90s chat show TFI Friday.
Evans is known to be both a serious car fan, and a friend of Clarkson, who appeared in the TFI Friday special, the pair chatting about rumours linking Evans to Top Gear. Clarkson told Evans, “You’re not going to get my old job.”
Evans said in a statement this morning (June 17): “I’m thrilled, Top Gear is my favourite programme of all time.”
The controller of BBC Two, Kim Shillinglaw, said: “His knowledge of and passion for cars are well known, and combined with his sheer inventiveness and cheeky unpredictability, he is the perfect choice to take our much-loved show into the future.”
Perhaps pointedly, considering Clarkson’s sacking following his abuse of and dust up with a producer on the show, she added:
“Chris is a huge fan of Top Gear and has great respect for the craft and work ethic of one of the best production teams in the world.”
Jeremy Clarkson’s last appearance on Top Gear will be screened on June 28, showing two segments he made before he was sacked, which will be presented by co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May in the studio.
The BBC announcement said that Evans would front an “all new” line up for the show, so we can presume that the June broadcast will also be the last appearances by Hammond and May.
Filming on the Evans reboot will begin in the next few weeks.