Chris Evans On Jeremy Clarkson's 'Top Gear' Exit: 'It Was Bizarre'

‘Top Gear’ host Chris Evans has spoken for the first time about Jeremy Clarkson’s departure from the show, admitting he found it “bizarre” when the controversial presenter lost his job at the BBC.

Chris landed the job as ‘Top Gear’ host last year, following Jeremy Clarkson’s firing from the show over a much-discussed “fracas” with a producer while filming on location.

In a new interview with GQ, Chris reveals that he still considers Jeremy “one of his heroes”, and admits he was surprised to learn that hitting a producer was what got him sacked from ‘Top Gear’.

He tells the magazine: “If you look at the chronology of controversy of Top Gear over the last five or six years, it is bizarre that he went for losing his rag over his dinner when there had been international incidents before that.”

Chris continues: “We used to get on. I don't know if we still get on because I haven't seen him in ages. But he is one of my heroes. He's entertaining. He was great on Top Gear and I love his writing.

“He is funny. He deconstructs things really well. They say if you can explain complicated things to a six-year-old you know what you're talking about, and I am like his six-year-old.”

Jeremy’s ‘Top Gear’ departure came at the end of a particularly controversial 12 months, which included several accusations of racism, including after he was forced to apologise when unaired footage showed him mumbling a racial slur while reciting a children’s nursery rhyme.

Chris’s first show at the helm of ‘Top Gear’ will air later this month, though various media reports in the lead-up to the new series have hinted at problems behind the scenes, which the BBC have refuted on multiple occasions.

Read his full interview in the new issue of GQ magazine, on sale from Tuesday (3 May).

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