Photo: Top Gear
In light of the latest events, it seems that Chris Evans finds it more and more difficult to revamp the Top Gear show. After stating that he can’t talk and drive at the same time and the funny episode from last week when, during a lap on the Laguna Seca, he threw up on the trackside, it is now said that Evans threatened to quit the show.
To blame for this drastic decision are the BBC chiefs who are always interfering, making the 49-year-old presenter very frustrated.
It’s a well-known fact that Evans has to fill a huge gap, and that a lot of pressure sits on his shoulders, but his enthusiasm has been severely tested by numerous setbacks and behind-the-scene issues with executives.
On top of it all, the straw that broke the camel’s back was BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw’s perceived “micro-management” of the show and reluctance to give him the same free rein that Jeremy Clarkson used to have.
Seen as the right person to oversee the revival of the Top Gear brand, Shillinglaw had a difficult working relationship with Evans and his team from the start.
“Chris isn’t a quitter but it was all getting on top of him, and he began wondering if it was all worth the hassle. He was working his behind off and just didn’t feel the love coming back from certain BBC executives. They were constantly on the case and getting involved with production issues. It wasn’t something Chris is used to dealing with. He was being driven to distraction by all this when all he wanted to do was make good television. Things got so bad that he made his feelings very clear. It was more or less a ‘butt out, or I’m out’ situation,” a source told the Mirror.
Evans' spokeswoman said they wouldn’t comment on Top Gear matters or Shillinglaw’s departure.
It’s a well-known fact that Evans has to fill a huge gap, and that a lot of pressure sits on his shoulders, but his enthusiasm has been severely tested by numerous setbacks and behind-the-scene issues with executives.
On top of it all, the straw that broke the camel’s back was BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw’s perceived “micro-management” of the show and reluctance to give him the same free rein that Jeremy Clarkson used to have.
Seen as the right person to oversee the revival of the Top Gear brand, Shillinglaw had a difficult working relationship with Evans and his team from the start.
“Chris isn’t a quitter but it was all getting on top of him, and he began wondering if it was all worth the hassle. He was working his behind off and just didn’t feel the love coming back from certain BBC executives. They were constantly on the case and getting involved with production issues. It wasn’t something Chris is used to dealing with. He was being driven to distraction by all this when all he wanted to do was make good television. Things got so bad that he made his feelings very clear. It was more or less a ‘butt out, or I’m out’ situation,” a source told the Mirror.
Evans' spokeswoman said they wouldn’t comment on Top Gear matters or Shillinglaw’s departure.
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