Top Gear: Chris Evans slammed by ex-wife Carol McGiffin who says she would rather watch Jeremy Clarkson

The former Loose Women presenter said Evans is trying too hard to imitate his predecessor
BBC Worldwide/Mark Yeoman
Emma Powell14 June 2016

Chris Evans has come under fire from his ex-wife who said she would rather watch repeats of Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear over the new series.

Evans replaced Clarkson ahead of the latest series which has received criticism and a drop in viewing figures.

Carol McGiffin - who was married to Evans for eight years in the 90s - accused the presenter of trying to imitate Clarkson.

"The problem Chris has now is he’s trying to take the name and make it the same with a different line-up, but that won’t wash with the fans," she told the Daily Mirror.

"When certain people leave, especially someone as popular as Jeremy Clarkson, you can’t replicate the magic they bring to the table – although Chris is clearly trying to do that."

The former Loose Women host said she has yet to watch an episode and instead prefers repeats of the former series.

"I actually really, really love the original Top Gear, and still watch the repeats on Dave," she said.

"But I didn’t bother to watch Chris’s version because it held no interest for me.”

McGiffin’s comments come a day after the motoring show suffered another blow with dwindling viewing figures.

Sunday night’s episode drew the smallest number yet with an average of 2.4 million compared to last week’s 2.8 million.

The preliminary viewing figures are based on the live audience and do not take into account those watching on iPlayer.

But despite the drop in figures, the third episode received positive reviews from fans who deemed it the best so far.

One user tweeted: “Fantastic show tonight! Great format with good chemistry from the presenters. It's coming together as what it represents CARS!”

Top Gear is on BBC2 at 8pm on Sunday.

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