Top Gear Presenters Announced...

[ukaskew]

http://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-tv/meet-y...

Rory Reid https://twitter.com/rory79
Sabine Schmitz
Chris Harris https://twitter.com/harrismonkey
Eddie Jordan
Matt LeBlanc https://twitter.com/Matt_LeBlanc
Chris Evans https://twitter.com/achrisevans
The Stig

Audio from the announcement on Radio 2 this morning: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03j67ll?ns_mchann...

Edited by ukaskew on Thursday 11th February 08:39

[Otispunkmeyer]

Too many people IMO, though I assume they won't all be milling around at once. Far too many to do stuff as a group, but perhaps 2-3 of them break off to do something.

Also

I have to say it

looks like the Beeb have been box ticking. I mean we have a black guy, a woman, a ginger, a monkey, a white guy american, a potato and a robot (perhaps). They're really only a LGBT and a wheel chair user from a full house.

Though they did need more than 3 as otherwise people would be drawing too many parallels to the old show.

Not sure about this Rory Reid character, just watching his show reel.... its a bit init bruv and just a bit generic but seems to have his moments and plays to the camera well. Eddie Jordan is probably going to be the worst in that line up.

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Thursday 11th February 08:51

[john2443]

Otispunkmeyer said:

looks like the Beeb have been box ticking. I mean we have a black guy, a woman, a ginger, a monkey, a white guy american, a potato and a robot (perhaps). They're really only a LGBT and a wheel chair user from a full house.

How do you know the Stig isn't LGBT

And yes, presumably there will be 2 or 3 of them in the studio every week with others taking it in turns to do the filmed pieces.

[foxsasha]

I'd never heard of Rory Reid before the post above but he looks like he could be fun:

http://youtu.be/GPzkTKX_EXI

[Jordan210]

Maybe the BBC is targeting school run mums for topgears key audience. As they have enough presenters to fill a people carrier.

Up next on topgear The Ford Galaxy takes on the mighty Vauxhall Zafira

[marshalla]

So........ - those public auditions really worked out well, didn't they ? Lots of new, unknown, talent in that line-up.

[anonymous-user]

Harris grates.

Schmidt will be amusing, if a little screechy with that accent.

Otherwise, it gets a thumbs up from me.

[EricE]

That looks like the BBC diversity manager's wet dream.

[2fast748]

Strikes me that the "many presenters" is to avoid the cult of personality that TG used to be.

I'll watch but I can't stand Evans or Jordan but with all those presenters there should be someone in there I like!

[cerb4.5lee]

foxsasha said:

I'd never heard of Rory Reid before the post above but he looks like he could be fun:

http://youtu.be/GPzkTKX_EXI

I like him and he seems good fun, also really pleased Chris Harris got the gig too, I was never a massive fan like most are of the previous three presenters(although appreciate Clarkson was great at what he did) so I am looking forward to this new line up.

Plenty wont give them a chance because of Clarkson/May/Hammond but time and things move on.

[ukaskew]

cerb4.5lee said:

Plenty wont give them a chance because of Clarkson/May/Hammond but time and things move on.

If anything we have the best of both worlds now, a refresh of Clarkson/May/Hammond on a new platform with a big budget, AND Top Gear coming back trying a new thing with a bunch of presenters.

Win win.

[mattwilko]

Not sure how fun Eddie Jordan will be. Apart from that I'm fairly happy. Don't know a huge amount about Reid, but saw a video he did on the manual F-Type a while ago and he seemed pretty passionate and enjoyable to watch. I imagine there's so many of them so that they don't all have to give up other commitments (Matt Le Blanc with filming, Evans with the radio, Sabine and Harris with racing, Jordan with F1 punditry) and they can use who's available at the time. Hopefully any challenges they do are still mainly 3 people, preferably Evans (unfortunately it's inevitable), Harris and Le Blanc. I imagine it would be too messy if all six of them had to buy a car and take part in loads of challenges. I'll definitely give it a watch, which is more than I could have said for sure a few weeks ago.

[cerb4.5lee]

ukaskew said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Plenty wont give them a chance because of Clarkson/May/Hammond but time and things move on.

If anything we have the best of both worlds now, a refresh of Clarkson/May/Hammond on a new platform with a big budget, AND Top Gear coming back trying a new thing with a bunch of presenters.

Win win.

[scubadude]

I guess since Evans was a big proponent of Zoo radio and his style of TV on TGFI its not surprising there are "several" presenters, including a Monkey! Well done Chris (H not E)

I think its also a good time to point out that Top Gear has had "alot" of presenters-
William Woollard, Mike Dornan, Noel Edmonds, Gill Pyrah, Peter Macann, Marian Foster, Sue Baker, Stewart Woodcock, Angela Rippon, Chris Goffey, Tom Boswell, Bob Friend, Malcolm Wilson, Tony Mason,
Tiff Needell, Jeremy Clarkson, Jon Bentley, David Llewellin, Michael Collie, Quentin Willson, Michele Newman, Stephen Lee, Steve Berry, Andy Wilman, Russell Bulgin, Stephen Bayley, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Stirling Moss!, Julia Bradbury, Brendan Coogan, James May, Kate Humble, Adrian Simpson, Jason Barlow, The Hamster and The Stig x2

People get hung up on the recent Clarkson era, it was just a phase, lets all move on :-)

One thing that is interesting is they've always had a skill mixture, so when Clarkson, May, Hammond and Stig joined a race somewhere as a team they always had a chance of ending up in the hedge and at the back as the trio of presenters while quick where often a bit flamboyant for racing.
I pity the race serious TG tries to cover now if they send Sabine, Harris, LeBlanc and the Stig who're all reasonable handy pedallers :-)


Important question- what tranquillizers did they give Harris and Stig to stop them doing a public service and kneecapping Eddie at the photoshoot?

[ambuletz]

I can only imagine that they're going to play around with the format as there's this many people. Remember the early days of the new foramat when they had that chubby guy from used car roadshow? that was weird wasn't it.

Well done to Chris Harris!

[Jonesy23]

They could have tried to sort out a picture where it didn't look like Evans had pissed himself.

Also a key qualification seems to be 'are you shorter than Chris Evans?'.

[Megaflow]

I thought Matt Le Blanc was a low point, Eddie fking Jordan...

[audidoody]

Car crash television

I predict a bigger budget version of "Fifth Gear"

A light entertainment car show too superficial for petrol heads and too specialist for a mass audience.

Kind of like attempting an unfunny reboot of the "Three Stooges"

(For the benefit of our younger viewers - http://www.threestooges.com

[NickGibbs]

Good line up. Well, apart from EJ, but maybe his special talents will be put to good use (asking blunt questions to car CEOs? Might work)

I know Rory and he's a top bloke. Likes his cars, and is a likeable fellow. Should do well.

[bicycleshorts]

Line up looks good to me. Can't wait to see the first episode of this and whatever Clarkson will call the Netflix one. Not sure of the negativity, as said above, we now have two potentially great car UK shows (more if you include 5th gear, wheeler dealers, etc.). Why are supposed car people complaining? Would they prefer we have more Strictly/X factor/Come dine with me?

Otispunkmeyer said:

I mean we have a black guy, a woman, a ginger, a monkey, a white guy american, a potato and a robot (perhaps).