â€˜Top Gear’ Fizzles As Chris Evans’ First Episode Airs And Disappointment And Bad Ratings Follow [Video]

It seems Jeremy Clarkson is a hard act to follow, as Top Gear reopened Sunday with its brand new hosts Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc.

It's been a long, hard road for Chris Evans and former Friends star LeBlanc while filming the first episode of their version of the popular motoring series, Top Gear. What could go wrong, did go wrong.

As reported by The Inquisitr, first there was a "gravely disrespectful" incident, where LeBlanc performed a wheel spinning stunt ^[1] just feet away from the revered Cenotaph memorial in London.

Following this, Matt had to take a little time out after almost running over a cameraman ^[2] while shooting the show. A couple of months ago, there was tension, as Evans and LeBlanc ^[3] were reportedly feuding before the first episode even came close to hitting the airwaves.

More recently Hollywood actor Brad Pitt ^[4] reportedly turned down a chance to feature in the show, leading Evans to bring on Jesse Eisenberg and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay instead.

Controversy reigned this week when the Sun newspaper reportedly cast slurs over the new series of Top Gear after a source had told the British tabloid, "This really isn't the start producers would have wanted."

"Chris made a rod for his own back by publicly predicting he would get five million viewers.

"The launch show ^[5] was the one episode everyone thought would be a huge hit – given the unbelievable hype and mass promoting of the show for the last few months. But it was just an embarrassment."

Now the first episode has officially aired, and the reviews are in — and they aren't good.

The cringiest moments from the #TopGear revamp: https://t.co/NWjoKBHJMU pic.twitter.com/MCjmAtnokU ^[6]^[7]^[8]

— The Sun (@TheSun) May 31, 2016 ^[9]

According to the Belfast Telegraph, after the revamped show aired on Sunday night, bookmakers in Britain started laying odds on Chris Evans losing his job as host of Top Gear.^[10]

While Evans himself insists the revamped show is a hit, the first episode reportedly failed to match the TV ratings enjoyed by predecessor Jeremy Clarkson and co-hosts, James May and Richard Hammond.

Why Top Gear was awful and how to fix it: https://t.co/OpXwYzCtga pic.twitter.com/7cVPLc1f9v ^[11]^[12]

— British GQ (@BritishGQ) May 31, 2016 ^[13]

According to the figures, the opening episode of the new series was watched by just 4.37 million views, which is reportedly 300,000 down on the first episode of Clarkson's version. However, Evans insists that the Top Gear audience grew throughout the hour.

On Twitter Evans claimed:

Top Gear audience grew throughout the hour. FACT. Won its slot. FACT. Still number one on i Player. FACT. These are THE FACTS folks.

— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) May 30, 2016 ^[14]

The new Top Gear is a hit. OFFICIALLY. 23 % audience share. 12% MORE than the opening episode of the last series. These are the FACTS.

— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) May 30, 2016 ^[15]

Reportedly, prior to the launch of the revamped show, Evans had told the Guardian newspaper that he would be disappointed if the show wasn't watched by more than five million Britons.

Since the show aired, the disappointing ratings and criticism of Evans in the role as host has caused British bookmakers to offer odds of 10/11 on Evans and LeBlanc being fired by the BBC – or leaving before the end of the current season.

However, bookmaker Ladbrokes reportedly believes this could be the end of the iconic British motoring show, giving odds of its cancellation at 1/2.

As for Top Gear fans, immediately after (or even during) the season opening, viewers took to Twitter to criticize what they dubbed the "cringeworthy" and "shouty" frontman Evans and his "bored" co-host Matt LeBlanc.

Sorry #TopGear ^[16]… switching off… looking forward to the proper boys on @amazonprimenow ^[17] soon… night all xxx

— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) May 29, 2016 ^[18]