Top Gear: BBC Two boss admits she is 'terrified' about show's shake-up under Chris Evans

BBC Two controller Kim Shillinglaw says Evans is "incredibly spontaneous" and viewers would never know what would happen next

Chris Evans driving a classic Aston Martin covetable DB5 car, a day after it was announced that he will be the new presenter of Top Gear Photo: Rex

By Hannah Furness, arts correspondent, Arts correspondent

2:38PM BST 28 Aug 2015

The prospect of an unpredictable new version of Top Gear under Chris Evans is "terrifying", the head of BBC Two has admitted, saying "you don't quite know what's going to happen next".

Kim Shillinglaw, the controller of BBC Two, said there would be significant changes to the show under Evans, who takes over from Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.

Among the "really interesting" changes will see Dunsfold track supersized and a changing line-up of presenters still being masterminded by Evans.

Calling him "incredibly spontaneous", she said viewers would never know what would happen next.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, Shillinglaw also spoke about the ending of Clarkson's contract, saying it was "very sad" and exposed the "human frailties" of working in television.

When asked about the new series of Top Gear under Evans, she said she is "so excited and of course terrified".

"I really can't think of a person that better combines two things I think are really central to Top Gear: one is an absolute genuine passion for cars, but also being incredibly spontaneous, incredibly surprising.

"You don't quite know what's going to happen next.

"Watching someone who has that is always fantastic telly."

She added: "It's going to be different. There will be continuity, but it will be really different.

Chris Evans will be taking over from previous Top Gear presenters, Richard Hammond Jeremy Clarkson and James May  Photo: Rex

"Dunsfold is looking quite interesting, the presenter line-up is going to be a bit different.

"So there will be some changes to the show. It's scary but it's really exciting."

When asked about Clarkson, who famously left the BBC after a "fracas" which saw him punch a producer, she said: "For me, I think it was a very sad episode in lots of ways.

"The biggest reminder is that for all this is telly, this is business, this is competitive industry, at the end of the day it's about human beings. It was just a very human situation.

"I am and always will be fond of Jeremy and James and Richard, and have great respect for their craft skills.

"I think it was just very very sad, the way in which the human frailties I think you have to, as a person, be respectful and understanding of became part of the story.

"To get to a point where it wasn't something that as the BBC was acceptable. I don't think any organisation would find it acceptable.

"And for me the biggest story is that sometimes human beings are bigger than telly."

Further announcements about the new presenting line-up, and the outcome of the thousands of fan audition tapes received from around the world, are due later this year.

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Why Superhero Movies Will Continue To Thrive, According To Chris Evans

Chris Evans doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to superhero movies. The dude walks the walk. Remember, Evans was holding down the fort as a member of The Fantastic Four before being in an FF movie was a curse and a burden. And, naturally, he has been crushing it as Captain America in a steady stream of Marvel movies. So when he weighs in on the state of the genre, and the way it can pave its future, it’s worth sitting up and paying notice.

Evans was promoting his directorial debut Before We Go, and spoke with Collider about superhero movies, in general, and how they can continue to evolve. From Evans’ standpoint, it’s really a matter of letting filmmakers find an original tone inside of a superhero movie, and figuring out the balance of larger-the-life comic-book content within the confines of the overall story. He said:

You could take any superhero movie and if you ground it enough, if you make it real enough—that’s what I think [Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo] do really well. Certain superhero movies feel like ‘superhero movies.’ Russo movies almost feel like human stories with a little bit of superhero sprinkled in. So you might get exhausted of the larger-than-life powers I suppose, but as long as the filmmakers keep on reinventing the flavor and the approach and the tone, audiences are going to still go."

A lot of the chatter leading up to the release of The Winter Soldier talked about how this was Marvel trying to do a 1970s political thriller. (Casting Robert Redford was a nice touch.) A similar discussion was had around Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man, which was viewed as Marvel’s first "heist film," with hints of superhero action sprinkled in. To that end, the new Spider-Man movie allegedly will be a John Hughes-esque coming-of-age high school comedy. So you can see how Marvel is trying to change up genres while still delivering movies that feature the heroes from their comic-book pages.

Chris Evan’s comments likely come in response to Steven Spielberg’s recent deduction that the superhero-movie craze will eventually run its course and go "the way of the Western," meaning that audiences will tire of the onslaught of comic-book properties and seek different flavors of entertainment. Evans is trying to say that the different flavors can be found IN the superhero genre, if filmmakers keep changing up their approach.

Either way, it won’t happen any time soon. We have no less than 35 superhero movies on Hollywood’s radar between now and 2020, with every major studio filling its slate with comic properties. The tide may change, in time, but Evans is correct that the genre can survive for a long, long time so long as filmmakers keep changing it up.  

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Crush of the week: Chris Evans

More than most in his shoes, Evans oozes a weary kindness, and that is my catnip’

 

It’s not an obvious movie star name, is it? For years, the most famous person to bear it was a wildly successful English TV presenter whose biggest draw was his anarchic take on Friday night telly. But this Chris Evans, one of the biggest film stars in the world, is very different, and I have the biggest crush on him.

I first saw him in Not Another Teen Movie, a 2001 parody of, you guessed it, teen movies. Then he was in 2005’s Fantastic Four, playing up his greatest gift: an affable, old-fashioned charm. Evans, 34, is from Boston, and the city’s a good metaphor for the man: solid, unflashy, still kind of earthy, despite its proximity to decadent New York. He is often compared to a puppy by admiring internet-dwellers, and you can see why: big eyes, easy smile, open warmth. He is very handsome, but not oppressively so. He’s the boy you wish had grown up next door; your best friend’s older brother, the one you reconnect and fall in love with when you’re both older and wiser.

He has spoken about anxiety issues around fame, and in that lies a vulnerability that is also the manliest thing about him: he seems morally solid but not square. More than most in his shoes, Evans oozes a weary kindness, and that is my catnip. He brings this quality to his underrated role in 2013’s Snowpiercer, but more attention-grabbing has been his portrayal of Captain America, a perfect marriage of actor and character: he’s the gentleman superhero, a man of substance built like a brickhouse. I can’t wait to see his third standalone Captain America film.

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Alex Jones is reunited with Top Gear's Chris Evans for his FINAL One Show appearance

THEY have presented The One Show together on and off for the past five years, however Chris Evans recently said goodbye to the series and co-host Alex Jones ahead of his Top Gear debut.

WENN

Chris Evans and Alex Jones were reunited yesterday for one last shoot for The One Show

But the presenters were reunited once again yesterday for one last hurrah at Carfest in Hampshire, where they were also joined by a number of celebrity friends.

Alex, 38, and Chris, 49, were photographed as they laughed through their on-stage segments, as they filmed their final appearance together for the BBC1 programme.

The brunette beauty cut a chic figure during her outing, teaming a pretty, pastel print coat with a pink jumper.

The television personality also made sure her attire was appropriate for the event, by adding causal skinnies and a dark green pair of wellies.

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The pair looked to be back having fun at Carfest in Hampshire

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Chris has had to leave The One Show to focus on Top Gear

She tweeted prior to her arrival: "I have loved my week on @BBCRadio2. Thanks for all your nice comments. Now packing for Carfest. Happy bank holiday."

Radio DJ Chris meanwhile also wore wellington boots as well as a deep blue jumper and jeans.

The star has had to step down from The One Show ahead of the start of the new revamped motoring show next year.

His outing comes just hours after BBC Two controller Kim Shillinglaw admitted she was "terrified" about the Top Gear shake-up.

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Alex looked effortlessly chic in a patterned coat and skinnies

Speaking about Chris at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, she said: "I really can't think of a person that better combines two things I think are really central to Top Gear: one is an absolute genuine passion for cars, but also being incredibly spontaneous, incredibly surprising.

"You don't quite know what's going to happen next. Watching someone who has that is always fantastic telly."

Kim added: "It's going to be different. There will be continuity, but it will be really different," the Telegraph revealed.

WENN

It still remains unclear who will be joining Chris on the motoring show

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Chris Evans on coming back as Captain America: 'If Marvel wants me, they got me'

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Captain America: Civil War

Posted September 5 2015 — 10:50 AM EDT

Chris Evans might be nearing the end of his Marvel movie contract (with just two projects left — both Avengers: Infinity War films), but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to hang up his vibranium shield just yet. The actor, 34, seemed eager to extend his stay as Captain America in a recent interview with Collider.

“Listen, if Marvel wants me, they got me,” he said. “I’ve never had such a relationship where you have such — I mean look at my resume, I’m used to being on set being like, ‘Ah is this movie gonna be terrible?’ Marvel just can’t stop making great movies, they do it in their sleep. It’s wonderful directors and producers and actors and scripts, and it’s like a playground as an actor.”

Captain America: Civil War, which hits theaters on May 6, 2016, will mark Evans’ seventh appearance as the star-spangled Avenger, including his brief cameo in Thor: The Dark World and the post-credits scene of Ant-Man.

Last year, this commitment seemed overwhelming. He told Variety that he wanted to move behind the camera more, but finding the time was difficult. “I can’t see myself pursuing acting strictly outside of what I’m contractually obligated to do,” he said. “I’ve known for a while I wanted to direct, but [time] never really opens up.”

Now, he can’t even imagine that he was ever hesitant about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “It’s so mind-boggling that I was so tentative in the beginning to jump onboard,” he continued with Collider. “What an a–hole I would be if I hadn’t done this. I mean can you imagine? Kicking myself — I’d never forgive myself!”

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