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04th Jul 2016

‘Top Gear’ fans call for Chris Evans to be sacked as ratings fall even lower

Will Matt LeBlanc become the main man?

Matt Tate

Well that’s that then.

The first series of the revamped Top Gear has switched off its engine, and those who have stuck with the BBC’s flagship motoring programme have been offering their verdict after the finale.

The show got off to a shaky start in the ratings department, so much so that host Chris Evans had to come out and defend his new project when the second episode’s viewing figures dropped from 4.3m to 2.8m – more people tuned into Antiques Roadshow that weekend. Ouch.

Things appeared to be looking up after that, but unfortunately for Evans, a number of viewers seemed to be enjoying the show more when he wasn’t on screen and early viewing figures suggest that Sunday night’s finale pulled fewer than 2m viewers.

And that also seemed to be a prominent theme on social media when the credits had rolled on the final episode of the series. Fans enjoyed elements of the Clarkson-free reimagining, but many are calling for Evans to be axed before the next run.

But it wasn’t Evans’ shouty segments that had some viewers most annoyed.

Quite a few seemed to take issue with the fact that he appeared to be wearing the same outfit every week.

Co-presenter Matt LeBlanc fared much better, though.

Some care calling for the Friends star to host the next series solo.