In one of the saddest recent losses in modern programming, the charismatic, charming and not-at-all obnoxious Chris Evans has announced that he will be quitting Top Gear, a show which he spearheaded for a whole season, having taken over from Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May- whom by the way were in no way significantly better than Evans at all.
Despite being hampered with Matt Le Blanc (Joey from Friends) who is American, and therefore knows absolutely nothing about British television or cars or how to be likeable, Chris bravely persevered for a whole SIX episodes before the combined stress and pressure of the role forced him to stand down. In no way should this reflect some apparent suggestions that he was awful at the job, and in no way a suitable presenter.
These things happen though, and so we at The Edge here honour Evans as our writers discuss what we will truly remember from his glorious reign, and offer our thoughts on who, if anyone can step up to his imposing presenting mantle.
Remember that time when he joined the cast of Top Gear and their views plummeted? Ahh, good times. –Carly May-Kavanagh, Live Editor
Good. This is good news. He might be good enough for The One Show and Radio 2 and he might have a genuine love for cars, but I think we can all agree it was an omnishambles of a reboot. Now, either bring back Clarkson, May and Hammond or burn it all with fire. Seriously. This newfangled formula doesn’t work, BBC. Return to basics or put it to sleep.Also, apparently they’re not looking to change the line-up at all. So Matt Le Blanc will be running the show. I mean, have they not seen the Joey spin-off? Do they not realise? – Anneka Honeyball, Editor
Thank god. An hour of his shouting is unbearable. Though don’t go thinking his exit means Top Gear can be fixed. Time to cull it. – James Barker, Culture Editor
I recall the words of the Guardian on the first episode: “Matt LeBlanc needs to keep being Matt LeBlanc, because he’s quite good at it. Chris Evans needs to stop being Jeremy Clarkson”. I’m a little saddened we won’t get a chance to discover what could have been, had the two been given more time to figure out their chemistry, their on-screen characters. But I suppose there’s giving it a shot, and then there’s flogging an actively decaying horse.- Millie Cassidy, Writer
VERDICT: So, as you can see, all of our writers are utterly devastated that Chris Evans has left Top Gear, how on earth will they manage to replace him? I hear a pretty good trio signed up to do a car show on Amazon Prime, maybe the BBC could turn to those lads?
Watch Evans in his prime below:
