Top Gear S23 & Chris Evans Finale 3rd July UK /July 4th US

[RedMoon11]

Matt LeBlanc joins Top Gear!

TG is proud to announce a brand new presenter for Series 23

4 Feb 2016



Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for your new Top Gear host… Mr Matt LeBlanc!

Yes, the fastest-ever Star in a Reasonably Priced Car – he famously set an as-yet unbeaten lap time of 1m 42.1s in the Kia cee’d – will join Chris Evans when the new series premieres in May.

“As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter,” said Matt. “What a thrill!”

Chris Evans said of his new TG presenter: “Matt’s a lifelong fellow petrolhead and I’m thrilled he’s joining Top Gear. Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we’ll both be debating some epic road trip ideas.

“We can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to on screen later this year,” he added.

Matt of course, is no stranger to TG screens. After setting that scorching lap time, he reappeared in the following series to test the new Kia cee’d against its predecessor, drove The Stig around in a McLaren MP4-12C, and recently presented the standalone spin-off Top Gear: The Races.

We’ll have more news on additional Top Gear cast members shortly…

www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-tv/matt-leblanc-joins-top-gear

[RedMoon11]

[RedMoon11]

Matt LeBlanc Interview & Fastest Lap - Top Gear - BBC



from Series 18, Episode 2

Published on Feb 4, 2016
To celebrate the announcement that iconic American actor Matt LeBlanc has today been revealed as one of the new presenters of Top Gear, we're taking you back to the classic moment where he became the fastest ever celebrity to lap the famous Top Gear track.

[RedMoon11]

Meet your new Top Gear presenters!

Full line-up revealed for TG telly’s return in May

TopGear.com
11 Feb 2016


Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Matt LeBlanc, Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Eddie Jordan and The Stig

People of the world, may we present the brand new Top Gear TV team!

We are very proud to announce that racing driver Sabine Schmitz, YouTube star Chris Harris, F1 pundit Eddie Jordan and motoring journalist Rory Reid will join Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc and of course, The Stig, when the show returns in May.

Eddie Jordan you’ll remember, once ran his own Formula One team with drivers like Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill on the roster. He said: “I have such enormous respect for all my fellow presenters and I politely ask that they go easy on these old bones.”

Sabine will be no stranger to regular viewers of TG telly of course, having famously set a scorching lap time around the Nürburgring… in a Transit van. “I grew up next to the Nürburgring and have been racing for most of my life,” she said, “so the chance to combine both driving and filming was too good an opportunity to pass up.”

YouTube star Chris Harris said: “Top Gear is the thing that helped shape my life with cars, my perception of cars and my obsession with cars, and I’m raring to give it a go.

“I’m also quite gobby and happy to get into trouble. And if it all goes wrong, well, I can say I was once on Top Gear, and just head back to being that annoying small bloke off YouTube,” he added.

And remember our little shout out for public auditions? Step forward Rory Reid. “When I submitted my 30-second audition tape, I knew the odds were very firmly against me.

“To be the only person to make it through the open audition process makes me immensely proud. I’ve been a Top Gear fan for decades, but more than that, I live and breathe cars in a way that is perfectly compatible with the show,” he added.

The Stig of course, was his usual effusive self.


Yeah, exactly.

TG will return to your screens this May, so stay tuned to TopGear.com for more updates…

Listen to Chris Evans announce the new Top Gear line-up here - www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03j67ll


www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-tv/meet-your-new-top-gear-presenters

[slfriend79]

Feb 11, 2016 22:08:07 GMT RedMoon11 said:

Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Matt LeBlanc, Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Eddie Jordan and The Stig

I think with that many people things could get a bit muddled up.

[Flying Lady]

Each of them has a distinctive voice, specialty, and persona. I think having a broader range of presenters is going to make the programme interesting. I'm 100% excited about Sabine Schmitz. I absolutely fangirl over her. I think it's a pretty solid cast and I am looking forward to seeing what Evans does with it. I'm not the world's biggest Evans fan - I've always found his style kind of bland and forced, however he does have solid petrolhed credentials and a good team with him. I feel like it could be good. And as May has said repeatedly, for the new CHM venture to have credible success, it needs a credible rival in the Top Gear reboot.

[thestig]

i was prepared not to like any of the new presenters but i've been watching Chris harris's videos for years. I like Sabine ,Eddie Jordan causes chaos wherever he goes,Rory and Matt seem like a good laugh and i'm pleased that Stiggy is back , infact if you confined Evans to just being exec producer we could have a good show on our hands.
Look. I know change can be sh*t scary but the fact is we'll still get to see the boy's doing their thing , TG gets a rethink and we'll end up with 2 potentially brilliant car shows where their only used to be one.
win win .

[flatin5th - Knight of the NC]

varied and interesting! looks promising!

[RedMoon11]

It will be premiering over a 3 day weekend in both the UK, Spring Bank Holiday & US, Memorial Day weekend (the unofficial start of summer)

Top Gear is back on your TV on 29th May  (May 30th in the US)

New series of Top Gear is here in less than three weeks. Time to get excited

TopGear.com 11 May 2016



The wait is nearly over! Top Gear will return to your screens on 29th May.

Your Sunday nights can return to normal, then. Filming has taken place in nine countries over eight months, the six new presenters racking up over 7,500 miles.

And if you’ve caught up on all the trailers, you’ll know what you can expect to see: a Ferrari F12tdf sliding, an Ariel Nomad jumping, a Dodge Viper and jet fighter racing, and a lead presenter puking. Plus a whole lot more.

Click here to see the latest, extended trailer, and then cancel all plans for the 29th: all-new Top Gear is less than three weeks away. And don’t forget, for the first time there’s a behind-the-scenes show on your TV straight after. Get all the details on Extra Gear right here…

www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-tv/top-gear-back-your-tv-29th-may

Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc lead a new season of Top Gear on BBC America, starting Monday, May 30th at 9/8c.

[RedMoon11]

BBC statement on Top Gear

Date: 04.07.2016 Last updated: 04.07.2016 at 15.21
Category: Corporate; BBC Two

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.”

BBC Press Office

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/top-gear-statement

[RedMoon11]

[RedMoon11]

Chris Evans finishes first series of Top Gear with fewer than 2 million viewers

Just 1.9 million viewers tuned in to the series finale, broadcast at the same time as the Euro 2016 quarter-final between France and Iceland



By Ben Dowell

Monday 4 July 2016 at 11:30AM



Top Gear ended its first series of the new era with fewer than two million viewers tuning in to the sixth and final episode, according to the overnight ratings.



The hour-long instalment of the final show saw Chris Evans test out an MGB Roadster and Matt LeBlanc put the new Porsche 911 R through its paces. Just 1.9 million tuned in, a share of 8.6% of the available viewing.



The series finale was beaten by an Antiques Roadshow repeat on BBC1, which started at 7.30pm and attracted 3.8 million viewers for the half-hour it was against Top Gear between 8pm and 8.30pm.



Antiques Roadshow was followed by episode five of BBC1 drama The Musketeers, which averaged 2.5 million viewers between 8.30 and 9.25pm.



Top Gear was also competing with the France v Iceland Euro 2016 quarter-final on ITV between the hosts and the conquerors of England.



The football attracted 4.6 million viewers on the main ITV channel over the course of the programme between 7.15pm and 10.15pm, a share of 21.8% of the available viewing.



In the hour it was against Top Gear the football was being watched by an average of 5.9 million viewers on ITV, with a further 2.7 million viewers watching in HD.



Top Gear has struggled when broadcast alongside Euro 2016 football. Episode three fell to a low of 2.37 million.

This led to the presenter’s insistence that consolidated ratings would be the key to judging the success of the programme.



Also, episode one has consolidated at 6.4 million overall viewers, with 4.1 million for episode two and 3.4 million for episode three. Figures for subsequent episodes have not been published yet, although last night’s show is currently the highest-rated show on BBC iPlayer.



The BBC is yet to confirm the presenting line-up for series two. A show spokesman told RadioTimes.com: “Announcement about future eps will happen in due course.”


www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-07-04/chris-evans-finishes-first-series-of-top-gear-with-fewer-than-2-million-viewers