LE BLANC: EVANS HELP ME!
I’m in firing line now
MATT LeBlanc is expecting a barrage of abuse when Top Gear returns tonight.
The backlash against the last series was so bad that presenter Chris Evans has since quit.
Co-presenter Matt has stepped up to head the BBC car show – and admitted he expects flak to come his way now.
He said: “I’m certainly prepared for a lot of that to land in my lap now. But we will see. If people are going to throw rocks at whatever they want to throw rocks at, all you can do is hope they won’t hit you on the head.”
Last year fans accused DJ Evans of shouting too much, and they claimed the show was not as good without Jeremy Clarkson. Friends star Matt said: “You can please some people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
“There’s going to be people that like it and there’s going to be people that don’t like it. Our job in my opinion is to make the best show we can possibly make.”
Last year’s series suffered poor reviews and dismal ratings amid claims the hosts were at war. Matt said: “I think EXCLUSIVE ED GLEAVE a lot of the things that were said were unfair. I also think some of the things said about me last year were unfair.”
Rory Reid and YouTube star Chris Harris will help to front the new series. BBC bosses hope they will be as popular as Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Chris said: “We knew what we were undertaking when we signed up to it. We’re following three of the best people that have ever worked in my industry.”
Executive producer Clare Pizey believes last year’s series suffered because they had just a few months to plan it. She said: “If you think about it, last year they were only booked in February and they were on air in May and you can’t force chemistry.
“We were making a lot of individual films before. Now they are working together. It is much more natural.”
Series editor Alex Renton added: “I think that is what we are seeing in this series – the chemistry and ambition for the films is really coming through.”
Watch tonight, 8pm on BBC Two.