After months of intense speculation Evans finally came public with the news that he had been offered the coveted prize of presenter of Top Gear, one of the BBC’s most successful and lucrative exports. It is watched by 350 million around the world and brings in £50 million to the BBC every year. Evans believes Top Gear is the “biggest television show in the world.”

Former host Jeremy Clarkson left the show following what was described as a “fracas” with his producer. Reports claimed that Clarkson punched him in the face because he couldn’t get a hot meal.

But Evans is thrilled to have landed the job, saying the show is “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…I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward.”

Kim Shillinglaw, controller of BBC2 and BBC4, has said,“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.”

Evans has made it clear that while he respects Jeremy Clarkson and the content of the show in the past, he wants to revamp it, to give it a modern look and to have a woman on board. Top Gear under Jeremy Clarkson was often accused of being sexist and ignorant of other cultures following a string of high profile incidents abroad. But its supporters argue that it was part of its charm. Evans has a tough job ahead of him in pleasing both sides of the debate.

LM/HA