New Top Gear host

Chris Evans is Top Gear’s new presenter. The TV and radio presenter says he’s “thrilled” to get the job and describes the show as his “favourite programme of all time”. Evans adds: “I promise I will do everything I can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward.” He replaces Jeremy Clarkson, who was dropped after punching a producer while on location. The car enthusiast, who was tipped by many to replace Clarkson, has signed a three-year deal to lead an all-new line-up. David Sillito, of the BBC, says the line-up means Clarkson’s co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May will not be involved. Top Gear is watched by about 350 million viewers worldwide and is one of the BBC’s biggest shows, with overseas sales worth an estimated NZ$11m annually. Evans says the programme was “created by a host of brilliant minds who love cars, and understand how to make the massively complicated come across as fun, devil may care and effortless. When, in fact, it’s anything but and that’s the genius of Top Gear’s global success.” Kim Shillinglaw, controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, says: “I’m delighted Chris will be presenting the next series. His knowledge of and passion for cars are well-known. Combined with his inventiveness and cheeky unpredictability, he’s the perfect choice to take the show into the future. “Chris is a huge fan of Top Gear, and has great respect for the craft and work ethic of one of the best production teams in the world. He knows the attention to detail it takes to make a single sequence, let alone a series. He is already full of ideas and I can’t wait for him to get started.” Production on the new series of Top Gear will start in the next few weeks with more information to be announced in due course. Clarkson was suspended, and then dropped, by the BBC in March following a “fracas” with a producer at a hotel.