No Matt finish yet for Beeb’s car buff
MATT LeBlanc hopes to clock up more miles on Top Gear with a new deal to stay with the BBC hit.
LeBlanc’s two-year contract as main host will expire just as the new series – kicking off on Sunday – comes to an end.
Asked if he’d be back in 2019, Matt says: “I hope so. If they will have me back, I am knocking on that door.” A BBC source says negotiations are “on track”. Which is good news as the opening on BBC2 shows Matt, Chris Harris and Rory Reid really starting to gel, relentlessly mocking each other racing V8s in Utah. Friends star LeBlanc, 50, admits it took time to learn to talk and drive. He says: “They say ‘Here are the statistics’ and you deliver this at 100mph. I thought ‘Sh** I can’t do that’.”
He recalls doing a few laps then asking how it went – to be told he didn’t say anything. He adds: “So then you slow down a little and spit out how many cylinders the car has.”
Referring to his second stint as lead host, he says: “It’s easier. I feel more comfortable with Chris and Rory and they feel more comfortable with me.”