'Top Gear' Presenter Chris Evans 'More Volatile Than Jeremy Clarkson' Filming New Series

Chris Evans is “out of control” behind the scenes at ‘Top Gear’, it has been claimed, with insiders even claiming his temper is worse than that of his predecessor, Jeremy Clarkson.

According to The Sun, Chris’s temper has been raising eyebrows behind the scenes, with one insider suggesting he reduced a producer to tears until “an engineer had to tell him to stop”.

A source tells the newspaper: “Chris’s ego is out of control and he’s behaving far worse than Clarkson ever did - which is the opposite of what the Top Gear change was meant to create."

“The Radio 2 show is the country’s most popular. But Chris is turning up exhausted and miserable and his staff have noticed a huge difference. Top Gear’s a full-time job, but Radio 2 involves waking at dawn every day. It’s probably no surprise he seems close to breaking point.”

However, a combined statement from Radio 2’s boss Bob Shennan and BBC Director of Studios Mark Linsley appears to contradict this, as they insist: “Since taking on Top Gear alongside his Radio 2 breakfast show, Chris has displayed even greater commitment and professionalism.”

Chris has previously been forced to speak out over rumours he’s been difficult to work with on ‘Top Gear’, claiming last month: “As we count down to our first show of the new series, in (not James) May, the seemingly inexhaustible stream of ‘insider’ stories keeps on coming, my most recent favourite being about how ‘unprofessional’ I have been behaving ‘on set’.

“Just a small point here. We don’t actually have a set yet for me to misbehave on. Not only has it not been built, but we have only just signed off the final design.”

Since Chris took over from Jeremy Clarkson last year, the reboot of ‘Top Gear’ has rarely been away from the press, usually down to a string of mishaps behind the scenes, which have largely been refuted by the BBC.

Most notably, the show came under fire over a stunt which was filmed at the Cenotaph memorial in central London, which was slammed as disrespectful by some critics.

Chris later clarified that the stunt would not make it to air, despite having reportedly cost around £100,000 to film.

The new series of ‘Top Gear’, with Chris Evans and American star Matt LeBlanc both in the driving seat, hits the BBC next month.

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