It’s fair to say that the much-heralded new series of Top Gear…divided opinion when it debuted over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The initial response from viewers was pretty scathing.
@achrisevans trying to imitate @JeremyClarkson absolutely tragic #TopGear
— Peter Bates (@batesy_loike) May 29, 2016
The new #topgear resembles a 4th generation Subaru Impreza Turbo. A faint facsimile of something that was fun and relevant a decade ago.
— Paul Colgan (@paulcolgan) May 29, 2016
Sorry #TopGear … switching off … looking forward to the proper boys on @amazonprimenow soon … night all xxx
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) May 29, 2016
Ratings information released earlier on Monday showed that the launch episode of the new Top Gear line-up had an average audience of 4.4 million.
One of the show’s main hosts, Chris Evans, had said he’d be “disappointed” with anything fewer than five million viewers for the debut instalment (as a point of contrast, the previous series, headed by Jeremy Clarkson, drew 5.3 million last summer).
However, if Evans was disappointed by the figures – and the popular reaction to the episode – then he wasn’t showing it earlier. He used his Twitter account to declare the show “a hit” by winning its time slot and attracting 23 per cent audience share.
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
Evans also pointed out that the show’s initial figures look set to grow thanks to healthy catch-up stats on BBC iPlayer.
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
And hey, not everyone despised it:
Just watching Top gear on catch up ! Brilliant ! Congrats to all X
— Gary Barlow (@GaryBarlow) May 30, 2016
The opening episode included Evans and co-host Matt LeBlanc racing from London to Blackpool, a dogfight between American muscle cars in Nevada, and a British-built off-road desert buggy chase across a desert.
Top Gear is believed to be worth £150 million in global sales to the BBC, so the corporation is likely to do whatever it takes to keep the brand on track. It has this period to bed in properly before Clarkson et all launch their Amazon Prime show, The Grand Tour, later this year.
Maybe Evans will be proved right? Every show should be given a chance to get in gear.
Sometimes I think it's popular on Twitter to slag off a show rather than giving it time to breathe. It's this desperation for retweets.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) May 29, 2016
