To use appropriate motorised metaphors, production on the new Top Gear has been more of a broken down Jeep stuck in a bog than a Ferrari speeding along the hot tarmac.
First there was that awkward Cenotaph stunt that resulted in a public apology from host Chris Evans. Then there were the rumours that the show’s premiere had to be delayed to avoid a viewer-stealing clash from the unstoppable television goliath that is Britain’s Got Talent.
We’ll soon know just how the BBC’s revamped flagship car show is going to fare with fans, but it doesn’t sound like the studio audience for the first episode will be shouting its praises in the street.
Filming for the show started at Dunsfold Aerodrome towards the end of last week, and The Independent reported that dozens of “unimpressed” audience members had left before they finished.
They’d reportedly been assured that they’d have been able to leave the facility for 4pm, but shooting continued into the early hours of the evening. A source told the newspaper that people began to leave despite efforts from Evans and co-host Matt LeBlanc to keep them entertained.
The Independent also reports that both hosts had to retake their lines repeatedly, and audience members were prohibited from taking photographs for the first time.
It’s not all bad news for Top Gear fans, though. Gordon Ramsay has been confirmed as as guest on the first episode. A favourite on the show, the sweary chef was snapped greeting The Stig, before taking on the track in a Mini Cooper.
Ramsay will be joined by Batman V Superman and The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg. According to The Sun the Hollywood star was drafted in after a last minute drop-out from Brad Pitt.
A source said: “Brad has obviously had filming issues so they’ve had to quickly find another Hollywood name and came up with Jesse.
“He played Lex Luthor in the latest Batman vs Superman movie, but is not a heart-throb or a name anything like Brad. Chris Evans is not known in the US so they’ve had to bring in two guests instead of one each week to build the brand out there.
“Gordon is a huge US TV star so that will help – but it’s not the start Chris or the producers wanted really.”
