Top Gear: 'Delighted' BBC boss defends reboot amid steep ratings drop
THE BBC's Acting Controller of Entertainment Commissioning has spoken out in defence of Top Gear, amid reports on the show's tumbling viewing figures.
The BBC are standing by Top Gear
Hot weather and competition from ITV's Soccer Aid resulted in last night's second episode of the new series being watched by over 1 million fewer viewers than the previous week.
However, as pointed out by show host Chris Evans, these numbers will not reflect those watching on catch-up or on iPlayer.
Alan Tyler said in a statement: “We are delighted that this was the strongest launch episode of Top Gear since 2010 with 6.4 million tuning in for the first programme of the new series.
"We are also thrilled that Top Gear was the most watched programme on BBC Two amongst 16-34s last week. Add to this a further 1.75m requests on BBC iPlayer to date, along with the highest audience share for an individual transmission (28.8%) since The Great British Bake Off in 2013, and it is clear that there is plenty to celebrate about the return of the nation’s favourite motoring show."
Matt LeBlanc co-hosts the programme
The show has attracted intense scrutiny from the media
Last night, Chris, Matt and the team once again brilliantly led BBC Two’s biggest show of the day, by some margin
He added: "Last night, Chris, Matt and the team once again brilliantly led BBC Two’s biggest show of the day, by some margin.
"It secured a peak audience of 3.3m, and the show again remained the most requested programme on BBC iPlayer.
“With lots more adventures on the way in this new series, including a continental challenge with the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a luxury car contest in Ireland, stunning review films, plenty of power laps and many more great guests taking on the all-new rallycross track, we are looking forward to Chris, Matt and the gang bringing more of the all-new Top Gear to our audiences.”
Indeed, the second episode is currently at the top of the iPlayer Most Requested list.
Chris Evans gets 'even more shouty' on Top Gear
The celebrity guests have so far gone down well
Defending the viewing trends of its audience, Chris tweeted today: "The way Top Gear is being viewed is repositioning the way television is consumed. Last week 9 millions viewers. This week we shall see.
"Overnight television viewing figures for Top Gear have never been less relevant. Obviously some newspapers prefer to live in the past."
Top Gear continues Sundays at 8pm on BBC Two.