Evans on Top Gear will ‘terrify’ channel head

THE prospect of an unpredictable new version of Top

Gear under Chris Evans is “terrifying”, the head of BBC Two has admitted, saying “you don’t quite know what’s going to happen next”.

Kim Shillinglaw, the controller of BBC Two, said there would be significant changes to the show under Evans, who takes over from Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.

The “really interesting” changes will include the show’s track at Dunsfold in Surrey being “supersized” and a changing line-up of presenters, which is still being masterminded by Evans.

Ms Shillinglaw also spoke at the Edinburgh International Television Festival about the ending of Clarkson’s contract, saying it was “very sad” and exposed the “human frailties” of working in television. Yesterday, it was revealed that Clarkson has become Britain’s highest-paid television presenter, drawing the equivalent of his entire BBC salary for each episode of a new Amazon Prime show.

The presenter is reportedly to be paid almost £10 million a year for his new car show with May and Hammond.

When asked about the new series of Top Gear under Evans, Ms Shillinglaw said she was “so excited and of course terrified”.

“I really can’t think of a person that better combines two things I think are really central to Top Gear: one is an absolute genuine passion for cars, but also being incredibly spontaneous, incredibly surprising.”

She added: “You don’t quite know what’s going to happen next. Watching someone who has that is always fantastic telly. It’s going to be different.”