BBC’s Top Gear, with Chris Evans, starts on 8 May 2016

The new BBC Top Gear, with Chris Evans hosting, will first air on 8 May 2016 – with the pre-record on 5 May – as the first of 16 episodes of what, we assume, will be Top Gear Series 23.

Chris Evans, the new host of Top Gear after the BBC let Jeremy Clarkson go after his fracas (followed by Richard Hammond and James May), has revealed that the next series of Top Gear – Series 23, unless the BBC re-set the counter now Evans is on-board – will first air on 8 May 2016.

Evans was talking as he guested on James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen, confirming filming was already underway for the new BBC Top Gear, and that the new team are off to the USA in January for their first inter-continental jaunt. Evans also confirmed The Stig is part of the new programme, and that the pre-record will happen on May 5, a few days before the new series airs.

It seems highly likely the new TG will be a long way removed from the TG with Clarkson, Hammond and May, but with any luck it will be a watchable format that gives us the choice of two Top Gear-style shows – one with Evans, and the Amazon version with the old team.

Whether Evans and the BBC team will be able to come up with the sort of stuff the Amazon show will deliver – like the head-to-head between the McLaren P1, LaFerrari and Porsche 918 – remains to be seen, but we’re sure they’ll be pulling out all the stops to compete, including airing a Top Gear 2015 Christmas Special with Clarkson, Hammond and May to keep Top Gear firmly linked to the BBC.

But will Amazon, now we know when Top Gear will be airing, get their act together to pip the BBC to the post?