Chris Evans QUITS Top Gear

Chris Evans has announced he is quitting Top Gear as the first series with Evans at the helm comes to an end. Does this mean the end of Top Gear?

It was never going to be an easy task to make Top Gear work without Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, but the BBC thought they had a fighting chance with Chris Evans at the helm. But they were wrong, and Evans has now quit Top Gear after just six episodes.

It seems the viewing public just weren’t prepared to accept Evans shouty presentation style as a substitute for the original Top Gear trio, and ratings have fallen drastically in the new series.

But, to be entirely fair, there have been good bits in the new series, although it does all come across as a cover version of real Top Gear, and the BBC must now be wondering what on earth they can do to breathe life in to what was a proper cash cow for BBC Worldwide.

Will it mean a fresh start with yet another team of presenters? Will they keep Matt LeBlanc and let him head up the team of presenters? Will they decide it needs to be an ensemble piece with no one taking the lead? Who knows.

But what the BBC – and Chris Evans – have discovered is that Top Gear worked because of the unique chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond and May. Without it, there seems to be no Top Gear.

With the next series of Top Gear due to start filming in September, the BBC has got a real problem on its hands. And it won’t be helped by the arrival of The Grand Tour.