Matt LeBlanc to join Top Gear presenters
But the BBC is banking on former actor Matt LeBlanc driving up the ratings as he joins Chris Evans as a presenter on the new series of
Evans confirmed the news as he tweeted a picture of himself, LeBlanc, and The Stig.
The revamped version of the BBC show is due to air in May.
LeBlanc said: “As a car nut and a massive fan of , I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter. What a thrill!”
Evans said LeBlanc, who is best known for his role as goofy lothario Joey in , is a “lifelong petrolhead’’.
“Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we’ll both be debating some epic road trip ideas,” Evans said.
LeBlanc appeared on the original show in 2012 and set the fastest-ever time for their Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment. According to the official website, he set an unbeaten lap time of 1m 42.1s in a Kia cee’d.
LeBlanc is no stranger to presenting for and recently hosted a spin-off called
The seven-episode series saw the American actor going through the stand-out racing moments from the first 21 series of the show.
Evans was announced as the new face of last year, following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson.
Bookmakers William Hill said it was such a surprise bit of news, that not one bet had been made on LeBlanc.
William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “This is an astonishing bit of secret keeping — nobody predicted Matt LeBlanc and if anyone had enquired we would have made him a 500/1 outsider.”
The bookmakers speculate that a female co-presenter will be announced next and have German professional driver Sabine Schmitz as their 1/3 favourite. Former F1 driver David Coulthard and motoring journalist Chris Harris have also been linked with the role.
Hey everyone,I'm really honored and looking forward to working on Top Gear with @achrisevans , damn he's tall. pic.twitter.com/XGrcLP0NCl
— Matt LeBlanc (@Matt_LeBlanc) February 4, 2016
