Chris Evans Has Been Named The New Host Of ‘Top Gear’

TV and radio personality Chris Evans has been officially named the new host of the popular BBC series Top Gear. His contract will put him in the host’s spot for the next three years, Variety is reporting.

In a statement, Evans said that he loves the show and looks forward to hosting.

“I’m thrilled, ‘Top Gear’ is my favourite programme of all time. 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 of course, it’s anything but and that’s the genius of ‘Top Gear’s’ global success. I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward.”

Chris Evans had been rumored to be the next host of Top Gear since March 2015, when former host Jeremy Clarkson was dropped from the show, although at the time he denied being interested in the job, according to BBC News.

In March 2015, according to this Inquisitr report, then-Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson was fired from his job. Throughout his career, the outspoken Clarkson had been involved in a variety of small-scandals over him making offensive statements, but the final straw, at least for his BBC career, came when Clarkson punched a Top Gear producer while on location for filming. The Independent would later report that Clarkson was furious over being offered a sandwich and soup when what he wanted was steak.

With Chris Evans now officially named as host, Top Gear can now put the ugliness of the Jeremy Clarkson incident behind it. BBC spokesperson Kim Shillinglaw says the network is “delighted” to have Evans on board.

“His knowledge of and passion for cars are well-known and combined with his sheer inventiveness and cheeky unpredictability, he is the perfect choice to take our much-loved 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 phenomenal attention to detail it takes to make a single sequence of Top Gear, let alone a whole series. He is already full of brilliant ideas and I can’t wait for him to get started.”

As of this post, it is not clear when the new series of Top Gear, with Chris Evans as host, will begin to air.

[Image courtesy of: Getty Images/Mark Thompson]