Matt LeBlanc confirms Top Gear hosting duties in two-series deal

Matt LeBlanc confirms Top Gear hosting duties in two-series deal

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Monday, 26th September 2016
Matt LeBlanc (left) will continue as host without Chris Evans (credit: BBC)

Friends and Episodes actor Matt LeBlanc will return as host of the newly reformed Top Gear next year, after signing a two-series contract with BBC Two

Top Gear was relaunched in May this year with LeBlanc and Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans fronting the broadcaster's flagship motoring show. The pair were supported by motorsport boss Eddie Jordan, champion driver Sabine Schmitz, and journalists Chris Harris and Rory Reid over the series' six-week run.

Evans left the show in July, after the new series received mixed reviews. LeBlanc will now move forward with the programme, with Harris and Reid taking on larger roles as co-hosts, while Schmitz and Jordan continue their regular appearances. Principal filming of series 24 is due to start in the coming months. 

The programme faces competition from former Top Gear stars, Clarkson, Hammond and May, whose Amazon Prime venture The Grand Tour, which debuts on 18 November. 

Mark Linsey, director of BBC Studios said of the deal with LeBlanc: “Matt was hugely popular with Top Gear viewers last series with his humour, warmth and obvious passion for cars and for the show" while BBC Two's channel editor Patrick Holland said the American was a 'huge talent' whose "love of cars is infectious". 

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Friends and Episodes actor Matt LeBlanc will return as host of the newly reformed Top Gear next year, after signing a two-series contract with BBC Two