Top seller ‘Top Gear’ will survive Evans departure
July 5, 2016
The BBC has moved to assure that its top selling motoring show Top Gear still has a future following Chris Evans departure as lead presenter after just one season.
The BBC is said to be negotiating with former Friends star and co-presenter Matt LeBlanc to stay on; it was rumoured LeBlanc had threatened to quit if Evans did not go. The BBC confirmed that it had “no plans to replace Chris” and that it did not expect to make any changes to the current presenting line-up.
In a tweet announcing his departure on July 4th, Evans said: “Gave it my best shot but sometimes that’s not enough.”
The show has been a ratings disaster since Jeremy Clarkson and his team left the BBC. The audience for the July 3rd episode was watched by just 1.9 million viewers, down from 4.3 million for the opening show.