The BBC has confirmed that Top Gear is due to return to television screens on May 8th next year, fronted by new host Chris Evans.
Due to debut on BBC Two, the first series of the revamped Top Gear will run for 16 episodes after Evans takes over from the ousted Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.
According to Evans, production on the show is going to be extremely tight, with the first episode to air just three days after filming concludes on the series’ final episode.
No solid information has yet been released about the new Top Gear series, though scenes shot internationally have been confirmed with Evans stating that filming in the US will start in January.
It’s also expected that the BBC’s most popular programme will be a very different show going forward compared to what came before, with Evans the sole confirmed host alongside the Stig.
Shooting down the idea of aping the outgoing trio, he said: “We are going to do things differently, because we have to, we want to. Because they were brilliant at it, I'm not going to do that.
“They're the Three Stooges, they're 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.”
Clarkson’s contract with the BBC wasn’t renewed following his now-infamous fracas when he punched producer Oisin Tymon, and his co-presenters stood down as a show of solidarity.
Evans will have to pull out all the stops to win over audiences, though, having to live up to the legacy of Clarkson et al, while also competing with the ex-Top Gear trio’s new show on Amazon Prime.
Not to be outdone, Top Gear China, the BBC’s official regional offshoot, kicked off its second season with a wing-suit flight versus car race around the breath-taking Tianmenshan mountain range.
