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The BBC has confirmed that American actor Matt LeBlanc will front the next two series of Top Gear, which are due to air next year.
LeBlanc will lead the show, following the departure of Chris Evans at the end of Season 23. British motoring journalists Rory Reid and Chris Harris will also return full-time.
German racing driver Sabine Schmitz and F1 pundit Eddie Jordan will continue to make regular appearances, and The Stig will still be there, lingering ominously in the background.
BBC Two channel editor, Patrick Holland, said: “I am thrilled that Matt LeBlanc is returning to Top Gear. He’s a huge talent whose love of cars is infectious. I can’t wait for the series to return to BBC next year.”
Mark Linsey, BBC Studios director, added: “Matt was hugely popular with Top Gear viewers last series with his humor, warmth, and obvious passion for cars and for the show, so I couldn’t be more delighted that he’s agreed to come back and do more for us.”
BBC head of factual entertainment Clare Pizey will act as executive producer on the new series, while Top Gear long-termer Alex Renton is series editor.
After an apparently troubled production process, the Season 23 premiere was watched by 4.3 million viewers. That figure fell by roughly half over the course of the season, however the worldwide audience and views on catch-up services were reportedly healthy. Overall, though, it underperformed considerably compared with previous series hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May.
Many put the blame on Chris Evans and he took the fall, resigning after just the one season. It will be interesting to see if the slimmed-down presenter line-up can arrest the decline in audience.
It will also be interesting to see what, if any effect, The Grand Tour has on Top Gear.
The BBC has not yet announced an air date for the premiere of Season 24 of Top Gear. Filming for the series was originally slated to start this month.
Blair Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........
^^What that article does not tell you is that the BBC lost the Great British Bake Off to another channel recently and it is a huge loss (never watched it, but it is iconic tv here), so they have agreed to all Leblancs wishes and price in order to keep Top Gear going and not risk any further losses of big programs.
Blair Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........
I guess I will have to wait and see as I can get the Prime deal (20 quid discount currently) here and get access but since I am leaving in less than 2 weeks not sure it will do me any good except for the first couple weeks.
Blair Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........
I just watched episode 1 on Prime here in the States.
Pretty much business as usual except with a little more fat/fluff. Seemingly gets more into cars next week, as this was very much introductory - showing the new track (which looks shite) and demonstrating some of the season to come. Some of the challenges in the opening montage looked promising, mainly as I saw 3 x e30s lol
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