Top Gear fans will have to wait a little longer to catch the new show on BBC, as it has reportedly been pushed back two weeks.
According to RadioTimes, the car show will miss its May 8 premiere and will instead air on May 22, with two less episodes than originally announced, as filming is behind schedule, “due to a number of factors“, including Chris Evans’ lack of skill to present while driving at high speed, his car sickness incident as well as his filming schedule for TFI Friday, which ended at Christmas.
The report adds that executive producer Lisa Clark’s decision to leave the show, after just five months, also threw the production into “a certain amount of disarray“, while the large presenting lineup, which includes Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, Sabine Schmitz, Eddie Jordan and Rory Reid, announced earlier this month, didn’t help either.
From the original eight episodes, only six will air on BBC2, but since Chris Evans’ contract includes a deal to make 16 episodes over two years, the team will have to catch up by making the remaining ten at a later date.
BBC officials are apparently concerned about Top Gear running into summer, when it will have to compete for viewers with the Rio Olympics and the European Football Championship, while also being “desperate” to avoid clashing with the Amazon’s new show, which will star Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, expected to start this fall.
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