Top Gear: BBC picks Chris Evans to replace Jeremy Clarkson as presenter

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The BBC has chosen Chris Evans to replace Jeremy Clarkson as presenter of its flagship car show Top Gear.

Evans, who has fronted shows such as The Big Breakfast and The One Show, has signed a three-year contract with the broadcaster to lead a new Top Gear line-up.

Read more: Chris Evans is making a "secret film" for Top Gear

In a statement Evans, who currently hosts the Breakfast Show on Radio 2, said:

I'm thrilled, Top Gear is my favourite programme of all time. Created by a host of brilliant minds who love cars and understand how to make the massively complicated come across as fun, devil-may-care and effortless. When in fact of course, it's anything but and that's the genius of Top Gear's global success.

I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward.

The BBC said production on the new series will start in a few weeks and will release further information "in due course".

Kim Shillinglaw, controller of BBC Two said he was "delighted" Evans had agreed to host the show . He commented: "His [Evans] knowledge of and passion for cars are well-known and combine with his sheer inventiveness and cheeky unpredictability he is the perfect choice to take our much-loved show into the future."

The BBC lost Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May from the show earlier this year after the latter two co-hosts left the show following Clarkson's dismissal for assaulting a colleague.

With Clarkson and co in front of the camera, Top Gear became the most popular show on BBC 2 and one of the BBC's biggest exports around the world. The new presenter paid tribute to his predecessors on Twitter: