Chris Evans’s reign as host of Top Gear lasted all of six episodes.
The former TFI Friday host replaced Top Gear stalwarts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May after Clarkson was removed from the show for punching a producer and the two other presenters walked out in a show of solidarity with their co-worker (the one who did the punching, not the one who got punched).
Production of the new-look show was plagued with mishaps, with some even speculating it may be cursed. The troubles continued as the season premiere was slammed by viewers, with fans of the show saying it was best when Evans was not on the screen.
To his credit, Evans tried to fight back against his critics, but another poor showing for Sunday night’s finale means that Evans has stepped down from his hosting duties.
Stepping down from Top Gear. Gave it my best shot but sometimes that's not enough. The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best.
— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) July 4, 2016
Although Evans has left, it looks like the show will continue in its current form, with BBC Studios director Mark Linsey saying:
“Chris is stepping down from his duties on Top Gear. He says he gave it his best shot doing everything he could to make the show a success. He firmly believes that the right people remain, on both the production team and presenting team to take the show forward and make it the hit we want it to be. The new series has so far notched up over 30m views in the UK alone and has already been sold to 130 territories worldwide.”
And by the looks of things, fans are pretty happy to see Evans leave the show.
, @achrisevans pic.twitter.com/AqEf4qb0GO
— DANNYonPC (@DANNYonPC) July 4, 2016
https://twitter.com/ScottJonesy/status/749970251564064768
https://twitter.com/MADVILLAlNY/status/749970684214935552
@achrisevans pic.twitter.com/UA8BaUiiqK
— haydn (@HaydnOSmith) July 4, 2016
Though he still has some allies.
https://twitter.com/garethbartlett/status/749973939749851137
https://twitter.com/henweb/status/749970452991410176
Maybe now that he’s not bogged down with Top Gear duties, Evans can focus on reviving something his fans still want to see.
hope this means more TFI
— robinbellwriter (@robinbellwriter) July 4, 2016
https://twitter.com/quiggles/status/749971935380070400
