Former Friends star Matt LeBlanc will be a regular presenter of the revamped BBC Top Gear show when it kicks off in May.
Since the departure of the original team last year there has been huge speculation about who will join lead presenter Chris Evans.
LeBlanc is a well known car guy with a passion for Porsches, and he has been a regular visitor to the US GP at COTA.
He has been on the show twice before, and holds the record as the fastest “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car” after lapping Top Gear’s airfield test track in a Kia. He also presented a recent standalone show called Top Gear: The Races.
“As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter,” he said. “What a thrill!”
“Matt’s a lifelong fellow petrol head and I’m thrilled he’s joining Top Gear,” said Evans. 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. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to on screen later this year.”
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog 
That clinches it. I definitely won’t be watching. He loves himself, i’m surprised his head fits in the car.
So, you accuse LeBlanc of having an ego (he’s known for being just the opposite) and that’s a reason for not watching him but the God Of Top Gear, Jeremy “the pugilist” Clarkson, is INNOCENT of same? Seriously? That’s rich.
No Brian, I didn’t watch Clarkson either. But I did think Chris Evans might make a show I would watch.
FWIW, the common knowledge here in California is the LeBlanc is a super-nice guy.
My own reaction to all this Top Gear stuff is that (a) the Clarkson show was occasionally entertaining *despite* his best efforts, (b) I would watch it if there was an overt reason to (guest, car, race car, etc.) otherwise “meh”, and (c) I’m in total agreement re: the U.S. version. ‘Twas crap and good riddance.
Whether you’re a fan of Top Gear or not, the key ingredient to the show’s success was not that they had three car guys chatting and doing silly things with cars, it is the way in which Clarkson, May and Hammond interact, they are perfect foils for each other. Just Seinfeld was a show about nothing, Top Gear is not a car show it’s a show about three blokes cocking about.
I agree, and I think the dynamic interplay between three characters helped keep it interesting, as opposed to just two. Not to mention the Stig! I’ll give the new series a look when it airs.
Hopefully they’ll add a third. By the way, the American version I found un-watchable. Not the BBC-America broadcast, but the series with the three Americans, which fortunately has been cancelled.
Clearly the BBC is determined to destroy whatever franchise remains for TopGear. Too bad…
I’m still living in hope that Chris Harris can pick up the third spot! He’s bonkers about cars and knows how to drive to a reasonable standard. Monkey is used to dicking about in all manner of supercars.