Chris Evans says he and fellow Top Gear presenter Matt LeBlanc are the “modern style odd couple”.
The pair have just completed their first challenge for the BBC show – a UK v USA race from London to Blackpool in Reliant Rialtos, emblazoned with their respective country’s flags.
Matt hinted that another task would see the pair “in the woods, testing a couple of icons”.
Chris said he wanted comic actor Matt, best known for playing Joey Tribbiani in Friends for 10 years, to join the Top Gear team because “he loves his cars”.
“He knows so much about his cars, he’s a brilliant driver and he’s a world star, and that’s very important for Top Gear,” he told the Press Association.
“Also the transatlantic connection, we are very much like a modern style odd couple, completely different on first impressions but actually we’ve got an awful lot in common.”
The pair were in Liverpool for a BBC showcase of its latest programmes.
BBC Radio 2′s Chris revealed the new seven-presenter line-up would function with him and Matt as the main hosts, and the other stable of presenters would “come in and come out as required”.
The new series of the BBC Two show is due to start in May, featuring The Stig, Formula 1 commentator Eddie Jordan, German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, motoring journalist Chris Harris and car reviewer Rory Reid.
Matt appeared in the previous series of the show and holds the record for the then-popular Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment.
Talking about joining the show he praised Chris, jokingly adding he was “a nice guy, very approachable, taller than me”.
He said: “We’ve just done our first film together and we spent three days in the rain and the mud, and we had an absolute blast. Sets can be very long, with tedious hours and for me, I like to spend that downtime between setting different shots and setting different scenes, with people whose company you enjoy, it makes the day go quicker.”
The actor, who also starred in the BBC comedy Episodes, said Top Gear “didn’t feel like a job to me, it feels like this is a fun thing to do”.
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