TOP GEAR? NO, IT’S FLOP GEAR!

The new-look BBC show, with Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc at the helm, has been savaged by critics

THEY were always going to be large shoes to fill – very few believed the motormouth host who’d been fired after one scandal too many could easily be replaced. After Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson was fired from the show last year, taking with him lieutenants Richard Hammond and James May, the BBC knew it would be tough to revive the show with new hosts.

When the popular British motoring programme kicked off its 23rd season recently, new presenters Chris Evans (50) and Matt LeBlanc (48) – best known as Joey in Friends – braced themselves for criticism, but even they couldn’t have foreseen how savage it would be.

“Flop Gear!” roared the tabloids. “Borefest!” groaned fans.

In fact only 4,7 million viewers bothered to tune into the first episode – the programme’s lowest viewership for an opening show in a decade. And figures have continued to decline – the third episode reached a new series low of just 2,4 million viewers, the lowest ratings in more than a decade.

Fingers are being pointed at Chris, the redhead DJ with the shouty voice. “Chris Evans is narrating like he’s talking to a simpleton,” one viewer tweeted.

“Clarkson must be approaching weapons grade levels of smugness tonight,” tweeted another.

Many blame the programme’s woes on former BBC television director Danny Cohen for giving Clarkson (56) the sack last year after he got into an argument with producer Oisin Tymon because Oisin was unable to get Clarkson a steak after a day’s filming (YOU, 26 March 2015).

But fired he was and the BBC had to move forward, so it looked to Chris, who seemed a good fit for the show – at least on paper. A veteran in the media world, he’d worked as a writer and TV and radio announcer, and he still presents the breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, the UK’s most popular station.

Sadly, under Chris’ stewardship the show has had a bumpy ride and now, after only a few episodes, it’s been decided he’ll take more of a backseat. While Chris and Matt will continue to anchor the show, prerecorded material featuring lesser-known presenters Rory Reid and Chris Harris will have more prominence.