It is one of the most anticipated reboots in TV history and we now know who will be presenting the new version of Top Gear.
The BBC have revealed that the new format of Top Gear will have an astonishing SIX presenters as they try to keep the show alive following the controversial dismissal of Jeremy Clarkson and his two colleagues, Richard Hammond and James May.
Much has been said about the new presenters, with many people unfamiliar with them. Put your minds at ease as Carelink24 takes a look at the six new presenters for you.
Chris Evans
We knew shortly after Mr Clarkson’s dismissal from Top Gear that DJ Chris Evans would be taking over the lead presenting role on a new-look show. He is arguably the most well-known out of the new cast members.
Evans shot to fame on Channel 4 with The Big Breakfast morning programme before hosting the Breakfast Show on BBC Radio One. Alongside his radio show in the mornings, he also launched the highly successful talk show called TFI Friday.
Following a hiatus from the spotlight, Evans returned to national radio in 2005 with BBC Radio 2. After further success on the radio, Evans returned to television on The One Show and a re-make of TGI Friday.
The star has appeared on Top Gear twice before in the ‘Star in the Reasonably Priced Car‘ segment. In May 2010 he bought a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of only 36 built, for £12 million. He sold it three years later for $42 million, more than double what he paid for it
Matt LeBlanc
Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the new Top Gear set-up is American Actor Matt LeBlanc. The 48-year-old is famous for his role as Joey Tribbiani in the US comedy series Friends.
The show was a global success and is still one of the most popular programmes on TV today – with repeats shown on a daily basis on Comedy Central. Following 10 successful seasons, LeBlanc’s character even had a spin-off show simply named Joey.
LeBlanc has labeled himself as a petrol head and he has proven this around the Top Gear track. He posted the fastest lap-time in the Kia Cee’d with a 1.42.1.
Eddie Jordan
Former Formula One team owner and presenter Eddie Jordan makes the move over to regular cars. Jordan formed his own F1 team in the 1990s, named after himself, and helped launch the careers of stars such as Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine.
The team’s best performance came at the 1998 Belgian GP, with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher finishing first and 2nd respectively. Financial problems led to Jordan selling the team – which has now become Force India.
Between 2009 and 2015 Jordan joined David Coulthard as a presenter for BBC’s coverage of the sport – often pushing team owners for news and answers on the biggest topics.
Sabine Smhmitz
Sabine Smhmitz aka Miss Nurburgring. The German TV presenter/racer claims to gone round the famous circuit around 30,000 times. Smhmitz won the Nurburgring 24 hour race in 1996 and 1997 – the first woman to do so.
She has also appeared on Top Gear in the past – beating Clarkson’s lap-time around the German circuit of 9m 59s by 47 seconds in a Jaguar S-Type. She also appeared in another episode of Top Gear as Clarkson and Co took her and two of her ‘German Top Gear’ colleagues on in a series of challenges.
Chris Harris
Chris Harris is known as a YouTube star and had his own show called Chris Harris on Cars. His programme was similar to the original episodes of Top Gear as he would regularly road test cars.
Harris also has a very successful journalism background. He has worked for various motoring magazines including Autocar and Evo. Harris has a huge knowledge of cars and this could be vital to the new format of the show as the other presenters aren't known for their mechanical backgrounds.
He also has experience of racing having competed in the Nurburgring 24 hour event and Porsche Carrera Cup.
Rory Reid
Rory Reid is the only presenter, and only applicant, to make it through the Top Gear auditions by sending in a 30-second audition tape to the BBC. Reid is also popular on YouTube having worked on channels such as ‘Fast, Furious and Funny’. He likes to include humour into his work – including a rap review of the Rolls-Royce Ghost.
He has also done similar stunts to Clarkson and co – including a test which aimed to find out if a seat belt could lift a car.
Away from his YouTube work, Reid has also appeared on Sky1 with Gadget Geeks. He has admitted that he is a huge fan of the show so it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table.
Of course The Stig will also be returning to drive cars as fast as possible around the Top Gear track.
