Chris Evans and Top Gear-£3 mill. Money well spent?

I agree with you trisher , personally I can't stand the man and never watch it anway but thats beside the point, my daughter who was an avid Top Gear fan says that she and a lot of her fellow fans won't bother watching the 'ginger person' as she called him.

It does seem an awful lot of money but then the old Top Gear made Aunty BBC an awful lot of money Worldwide.

I can't stand Chris Evans who (IMO) has an ego the size of a small country. I used to love the Radio 2 breakfast show but his day to day bragging gets on my nerves. He even has tape recordings of his children that he plays regularly probably just to line them up for future BBC "work" (if thats what you call it). The man seems to be into everything these days and his taking over Top Gear (especially after he insisted he wasn't going to) just puts the tin hat on it.

Of course bless him, he might desperately need the £3 million.

Absolutely - much better programmes to spend the money on

Chris Evans was always going to be in the frame despite his hypocritical denials. He has huge influence at the BBC and can just about write his own ticket these days.

I can't stand the man but I disagree that the money should be spent on dramas and arts programmes. Top Gear has a huge fan base so why shouldn't they be catered for as licence fee payers? It earns the Beeb shed loads of money although that may change if fans desert the programme.

I'm not crazy about X factor style auditions for a co-presenter. I hope Jodie Kidd gets the job and Philip Glenister would get my vote any day

I'm sorry they haven't let Top Gear die a natural death once they'd sacked Clarkson. It won't be the same. Clarkson, May and Hammond were the show whether the BBC like it or not.

The BBC won't like to admit it but it was a lad's show that in this PC age was a dinosaur but it was a dinosaur that drew large audiences and sold well worldwide so it must have had something going for it other than just the cars.

I loved the show. Yes it made me cringe sometimes but in an 'oooh you are awful' (think Dick Emery) way rather than 'omg that's disgusting'. The new version will be sanitised beyond recognition. They're already trying out it's new PC image by suggesting Jodi Kidd might be a presenter. I don't want a woman on a car show. I don't care if she's an expert or a car lover. She's a woman and has no place on Top Gear other than to be a guest and drive faster than the men in the reasonably priced car. I've seen her in Fifth Gear....not a show I enjoyed.

There is more to a car show than simply driving around in cars.

I'm not at all sure the die-hard motoring fans will accept him. Although the kids will.

Aren't your comments a bit sexist, vq?

Nothing wrong with a female co-presenter especially one that not only drives well but is also an accomplished horserider and polo player.

The fact she's also had a successful modelling career could maybe satisfy those who don't appreciate seeing a woman in a 'man's job'

She's a talented woman all round and would be an excellent choice.

Oh yes totally sexist and very much in line with the original Top Gear

We were talking about the new look Top Gear last night, 9 year old DGD "Are any of the old team going to be in it?" Me "No". DGD "Well I won't be watching it then"

The original Top Gear was presented by Angela Rippon

Bring 'er back!

I'm thinking of sending in an audition video for the co-presenter's job. I think the show needs a grumpy old woman whose only opinion on cars is that she hates brown ones (we once had one with a KAK registration - very embarrassing) and that they're useful for getting from A to B if there are no trains going that way.

I quite enjoy CE's show on the rare days when he's not banging on about cars. I had to turn him off today when he and his hangers-on were tittering about speeding as if only bores stick to a speed limit. If his friend's 2 year old niece had been killed by a speeding driver as my friend's was, he might think differently.

I'm with you Maggie - it is that whole business of treating speeding as a joke that sickens me.

I don't condone speeding on public roads although I've been guilty in the past and had the points to match.

The motor industry needs just as many shop windows as other industries and why shouldn't people get pleasure out of driving at speed so long as it's done in appropriate situations?

People do tend to joke when they're having fun.

Well, all I can say is, "out of the frying pan, into the fire".

I think the popularity of Top Gear will probably go with the Clarkson team. So the huge financial profits will go as well. Maggiemaybe- GO FOR IT!!!
I do wonder about the promotion of speeding and driving fast cars. With the figures for accidents involving young drivers sky high it seems wrong to show celebrities driving high powered cars at speed. Of course they are doing it off-road but for most young people it's the family car on a public road and trying the same thing.
I think it's a case of people at the Beeb being too scared any longer to take programming risks. Top Gear has made them money in the past so they are sticking with it, which is probably a big mistake

There's a huge obesity crisis in this country. Don't you think it's wrong to show celebrities baking cakes?

Exactly merlot

They weren't talking about Top Gear, and neither was I. They were talking about their journeys to work. Carry on having fun. The person who killed my friend's niece was probably having a right laugh too.

Well I am delighted and live in hope that he has too much to do and leaves the breakfast show on BBC2. Please take this loud squeeky voiced numbskull off BB2 in the mornings and give us someone with a nice voice. Haven't listened to the breakfast show since CE has been on it. I have told him this on Twitter.

I think maggiemaybe's idea could be a winner! The Grumpy Old Woman part she describes might go down quite well given its contrast to the other 'parts' in the programme.

It'll be interesting to see how many of the former fans who say they aren't going to watch TG any more actually don't.

Celebrities baking cakes is probably balanced a little bit by programmes showing healthy eating options and people losing weight merlotgran and gillybob. I have yet to see a proramme showing the outcomes that arise from speeding-dead bodies, severely disabled young adults, bereft families or guilty drivers whose best friend died. If you overeat you might kill yourself. if you speed you can kill and injure other people.

The speeding done on Top Gear is all in highly controlled conditions. That is not advocacy for speeding on ordinary roads in ordinary circumstances.

I have never to my knowledge listened to Chris Evans talking about anything so I don't know in what circs he is alleged to have been 'joking' about speeding. Clarkson used to talk about speed limits and about speed cameras but only certain ones on certain roads. His arguments were not unreasonable even if one didn't agree with them.