After months of speculation, it looks like the revamped Top Gear will feature a female host, with Zoe Ball in pole position to join Chris Evans for the new show.
New reports suggest that she is “a certainty” to be part of the motoring show after screen tests proved she had great chemistry with Evans.
Speaking to the Mirror, a source said:
Zoe looks like a certainty after the screen tests. She was brilliant down on the race track and she’s enthusiastic about cars. She’s a complete professional and of course has a long history of working with the BBC on radio and television so she has known Chris a long time. Things immediately clicked into place and there was a lightbulb moment among producers. The chemistry between Zoe and Chris is perfect.
The chemistry is probably helped by how long these two have known each other – Zoe and Chris first met in the early 1990s when they presented Channel 4 show The Big Breakfast!
BBC chiefs are continuing to nail down the replacement hosts for Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, after Clarkson was sacked from the motoring show following that infamous “fracas” with producer Oisin Tymon.
Chris Evans confirmed in June that he’d signed on to present the new Top Gear and motorbike racer Guy Martin, actor Philip Glenister and presenter Dermot O’Leary have all been tipped as a potential third presenter for the show. Jodie Kidd has reportedly already turned down a role on the series.
Meanwhile, Clarkson, Hammond and May have been signed up by Amazon Prime to create a rival motoring show which is expected to air next autumn.
