Top Gear has been playing a game of musical hosts ever since they lost the original trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Today, the British motoring show announced its two newest hosts. The first is Paddy McGuinness, an English comedian and TV host. He will be joined by Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, who captained a Cricket team. Fortunately, Chris Harris will still be a part of the show.
Since the original trio left
Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc and Chris Harris took over hosting Top Gear initially. Chris Evans faced criticisms in his first series, which forced him to step away. Rory Reid since replaced Evans, and that team stuck until this year. In May, Matt LeBlanc, the frontman, decided to leave. After parting with Rory as well, the BBC had to find not one, but two new hosts for their show.
Who are the new guys?
Forgive me if my American-ness is showing. But surely I’m not the only person who hasn’t heard of these new hosts, right? Cricket is a sport that we don’t play in the US on any large scale, granted. Freddie was apparently quite good at it while he was still in the game. As for his car prowess? He bought a Lamborghini this year.
McGuinness feels altogether more qualified. He’s a current TV presenter and the host of a show called Stars in their Cars. Oh, he just bought a Ferrari California. Not exactly the ‘car person’s choice’, but at least there is a horse on the badge.
How do we feel?
Since Clarkson, Hammond and May left the show, there has been a fair amount of uncertainty. However, there also have been bright moments. Harris, LeBlanc and Reid seemed like they had the start of a good thing going during their time together on Top Gear. But in the end, the travel was too much for LeBlanc. He wanted to be closer to friends and family, and we can appreciate that.
We won’t rule out these new hosts until we watch a whole season of the show. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for the show’s future. The fact that we’re going on a third round of new hosts in nearly as many years may be a troublesome sign.
We will just have to wait until next year see how the new group performs. Fingers crossed.
Until then, stay tuned to TFLcar.com for the latest news, views & real-world reviews.
