Ever since Jeremy Clarkson let a plate of cold meats get the better of him, speculation has been rife over what the BBC will do next with its flagship motoring show Top Gear.
Motorhead Chris Evans (not Captain America) will be taking over as lead host of the rebooted series later this year. While we wait with excitement over what Chris will do with the much-loved show, here's everything you need to know before he sets foot on the test track.
Looking for that other car show on Amazon Prime with the other guys? You need to go over here for all the news on Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James's May's new big-budget extravaganza The Grand Tour.
Top Gear start date and episodes
The new series will launch on Sunday, May 29 on BBC Two.
Evans filmed his first segment for the show in October 2015, and 16 episodes are in the offing, spread across two series.
Top Gear presenters and co-hosts
To the surprise of Twitter and the bookmakers, Friends and Episodes actor Matt LeBlanc, of all people, was the first of Chris's regular co-hosts to be announced. If you were wondering, he still holds the fastest lap in the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' segment, despite feeling like he's always stuck in second gear. And please say he can drive a Porsche at some point.
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The full Top Gear lineup will be made up of SEVEN co-hosts, with Chris and Matt being joined by ex-Formula 1 boss Eddie Jordan, German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, YouTube star Chris Harris and journalist Rory Reid - who won his place through those public auditions that took place last year.
You may remember Schmitz for how competitive she got when she joined Clarkson, Hammond and May on Top Gear in 2005 trying to go sub-10 minutes around the Nurburgring in a transit van - it's amazing.
"We really do have a bit of everything for everyone," explained Evans, who made the announcement on his BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on February 11.
"A fellow lifelong petrolhead from the other side of the pond in Matt; a fearless speed-demon in the irrepressible and effervescent Sabine; the encyclopedic, funny and wonderfully colourful character that is EJ; Chris, one of the world's top no-nonsense car reviewers; and Rory, who simply blew me away in his audition and fully deserves his place on the team."
Evans had previously said that the three-presenter format was changing, telling MIPCOM convention delegates in Cannes that Clarkson, Hammond and May are "the Three Stooges, they are the Bee Gees, they are that and I'm not, I'm me. I'm a solo artist at the moment, I'm on my own, so do I form a band or not?"
Chris and Matt will serve as the show's main hosts, with the others dropping in and out for various films and segments.
What will happen in episode one?
The first episode will feature Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice actor Jesse Eisenberg and everyone's favourite sweary chef Gordon Ramsay.
There were reports that Brad Pitt had been secured for the first episode, but who knows whether that was ever true, eh?
'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' has been rebooted as 'Star in a Rally Car', and the guests will head out on a new track complete with a water splash area and a jump. The car? Apparently it's a red Mini Cooper with enhanced suspension. Two guests per week will try it out.
Eisenberg admitted to us that he had never heard of Top Gear before filming the show, but he loved every minute of it.
Chris Evans and Top Gear: how long has he committed for?
Evans has put pen to paper on a three-year deal to host the show.
He wasn't signed on an exclusive contract due to pre-existing commitments to Channel 4's TFI Friday, but the BBC's former director of television Danny Cohen promised that he would "be solely focused on Top Gear from the New Year". That said, Evans remains committed to his Radio 2 breakfast show.
Who's involved behind the scenes?
Former Big Breakfast producer Lisa Clark initially signed up to work on the show in July 2015. Singing her praises, Chris said: "She's funny, sassy, super experienced and has always absolutely loved cars." But Lisa left the production team just before Christmas to pursue a new project, and script editor Tom Ford followed suit.
These production departures sparked all sorts of rumours about the show, including a claim that Chris Evans was proving unable to talk and drive at the same time.
A BBC spokesman swiftly rubbished that, telling Digital Spy it was "complete nonsense" and adding: "The truth is that Top Gear producers have been blown away by how quickly Chris has taken to talking to camera whilst driving at speed, a skill which has taken some presenters a long time to master." What's that sound? Oh, just a mic dropping.
Top Gear filming locations
It looks like the Top Gear team are carrying on one tradition from the Clarkson/Hammond/May era - filming big set pieces around the world.
"We're going to America to make our first inter-continental in January [and we're] making another film next week," Evans told James Martin during an appearance on Saturday Kitchen in November 2015. "By the time we hit the air on May 5, we'll have 32 films in the can, as they say."
What about The Stig?
He's back. Either that or he's following Chris Evans around for no apparent reason. The world's most famous tame racing driver has also been unleashed on Saturday night BBC One, teaming up with Dermot O'Leary for family-oriented racing competition The Getaway Car.
But all we really know is... he's called The Stig.
Why is it already sparking controversy?
It seems the Chris Evans era is continuing Clarkson's controversial leanings before it has even aired. In March, Matt LeBlanc was spotted driving around various London locations with driver Ken Block, but the pair were criticised for what appeared to be them doing stunts near to the Cenotaph.
Evans later downplayed what the pictures "appeared to portray", but apologised "unreservedly" for the film. He later said that the footage will not be used in the final cut of Top Gear.
"That footage will definitely not go on the air, no question about it," Evans said.
"We're all mortified by it, so absolutely, one hundred percent, it should not be shown."
Are Chris and Matt getting on?
Despite several reports claiming that Evans and LeBlanc were "at war", they have both come out dismissing it as nonsense.
The pair have been consistently dogged by whispers of a feud over the last few months, but now LeBlanc is trying to set the record straight once and for all.
"All this stuff that Chris and I are at war with each other is a big load of bullshit. We've never had a rift," he told the Radio Times.
"I'm a true car fan, Chris is a true car fan. We're hanging out, having a laugh, doing our best.
"He is an extremely smart guy. I'd beat him in a race, though - and you can tell him I said that."
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
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