Chris Evans has hit back after viewers slammed his Top Gear debut.
The revamped BBC Two show returned to TV screens on Sunday night with Chris and former Friends actor Matt LeBlanc at the helm.
Viewers were quick to criticise the motoring show on social media, with many of the comments referring to Chris’ “shouty” and “too excitable” hosting style. Fans also felt that he had tried – unsuccessfully – to imitate former frontman Jeremy Clarkson.
However, Chris has now taken to Twitter to defend the show, suggesting in a series of posts that he was satisfied with how the first episode went.
The new Top Gear is a hit. OFFICIALLY. 23 % audience share. 12% MORE than the opening episode of the last series. These are the FACTS.
— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) May 30, 2016
Top Gear audience grew throughout the hour. FACT. Won its slot. FACT. Still number one on i Player. FACT. These are THE FACTS folks.
— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) May 30, 2016
Top Gear series 1 episode 23, catch it again tonight 7 pm BBC2. That's when it's on. FACT.
— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) May 30, 2016
Matt, 48, who escaped most of the barbs online, has yet to comment.
Sunday night’s instalment kicked off with a light-hearted dig at Jeremy, who was sacked for an “unprovoked physical and verbal attack” on a producer, apparently over catering.
During Chris’ opening segment he introduced a group of people from an Indian restaurant and asked the audience what they thought they were doing there.
One person suggested they were there to prepare the food, and Chris, 50, said: “By the way, we don’t talk about catering on this show any more.”
Chris visited a US Naval Base where he raced a Dodge Viper ACR against a Corvette Z06, and Matt was seen trying out an Ariel Nomad in the Moroccan desert. The pair also raced from London to Blackpool in roofless Reliant Rialtos.
Matt LeBlanc (BBC Pictures)
Chef Gordon Ramsay and actor Jesse Eisenberg became the first celebrities on the leaderboard after racing a Mini Cooper around the track.
Within minutes of Top Gear starting viewers on social media were expressing their dismay.
There were calls for the return of Jeremy and his co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May.
Jeremy Clarkson (Brian Lawless/PA)
Ratings released on Monday show that the episode failed to reach the viewing figures of the last series.
It drew 4.4 million viewers, with a peak of 4.7 million, while the last series bowed out with 5.8 million viewers.
However, the show was still the most-watched programme in the 8pm time slot, beating Antiques Roadshow on BBC One and the British Soap Awards on ITV.
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