London, England - They started Sunday night’s second show by wheeling Chris Evans in on a hospital bed, so perhaps the BBC knew Top Gear could do with some emergency treatment.
Evans was again criticised for his shouty presenting style, leading to more flak from viewers who said they were switching off.
But despite being dubbed ‘Flop Gear’ by some, the show received a much-needed double boost. It was revealed that the first episode of the revamped BBC2 series attracted a total of 8.15 million viewers during the week, thanks to iPlayer - nearly doubling the audience from the 4.4 million who tuned in on the night.
And the second week’s array of hunky male guests proved a big hit with female fans.
Jenson Button, actor Damian Lewis and rapper Tinie Tempah received rave reviews - with some even suggesting McLaren F1 driver Button, 36, should be made a permanent host.
Button was the reason why Evans was wheeled out on a hospital bed - his co-hosts joking that the ginger-haired presenter had needed to be heavily sedated after getting over-excited as he joined the Grand Prix star to put a McLaren supercar through its paces.
Also read: Top Gear: Same shtick, different presenters
One Twitter user wrote: “Jenson Button on #TopGear - smoking hot - and that’s not just the tyres on that McLaren,” with another adding: “Jenson Button have you always been so handsome?”
A third commented: “Awkward moment when cameo Jenson Button makes a better presenter than the actual presenter.”
Lewis appeared on the show to drive a Mini Cooper around a track for the ‘star in a rallycross car’ slot. One viewer tweeted: “Damian Lewis you were the best part of tonight’s Top Gear.”
Tinie Tempah, 27, accompanied presenter Matt LeBlanc on an SUV challenge filmed in South Africa, and which took them up Sani Pass.
The first episode was heavily criticised and drew 1.4 million fewer viewers than the last episode of the previous series, fronted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. But Evans hit back, tweeting: “The new Top Gear is a hit. OFFICIALLY” and “Top Gear audience grew throughout the hour. FACT.”
Daily Mail