In what will come as no surprise to anyone who has tried watching the new look Top Gear, Chris Evans has today announced that he is stepping down from the show after just one series. It was always going to be a tough job trying to take over the show following the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson and bot James May and Richard Hammond leaving the show last year. It has had nothing but criticism and complaints from the very first episode.
My criticism is that Evans came into the show and tried to follow the BBC instructions on what to keep in the show from the old format but tried to do a “TGIF” to the show format, basically adding what he does in every TV and Radio show he does and it simply did not suit the format at all. Evans would constantly try to make jokes about the old presenting team and show, hinting at the reason why he took over which failed to go over as he intended and he was overly loud in delivering his lines, added so many random ‘presenters’ that it was a mess most of the time and despite Matt LeBlanc actually surprising many with his performance, ultimately it was Evans that fans rallied against and with the finale to this series only reaching 1.9 million viewers when it aired, the writing was on the wall for him, that and reports of his alleged control freak nature upsetting fellow presenters and production staff.
Both the BBC and Chris Evans made the following statements:
Statement from Mark Linsey, Director, BBC Studios on Top Gear: “Chris is stepping down from his duties on Top Gear. He says he gave it his best shot doing everything he could to make the show a success. He firmly believes that the right people remain, on both the production team and presenting team to take the show forward and make it the hit we want it to be. The new series has so far notched up over 30m views in the UK alone and has already been sold to 130 territories worldwide.
Chris Evans said: “I have never worked with a more committed and driven team than the team I have worked with over the last twelve months. I feel like my standing aside is the single best thing I can now do to help the cause. I remain a huge fan of the show, always have been, always will be. I will continue to focus on my radio show and the allied events that it encompasses.”
Nothing Is True 