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Top Gear gets first female host

From left:

The all-new Top Gear line-up, from left: Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Matt LeBlanc, Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Eddie Jordan and The Stig

The BBC has revealed further details about the new team fronting its revamped global motoring hit Top Gear , including the show’s first female presenter.

Record-breaking German racing driver Sabine Schmitz will join the presenting line-up alongside previously announced host Chris Evans and Episodes star Matt LeBlanc, whose involvement was revealed earlier this month.

Formula 1 expert and commentator Eddie Jordan, motoring journalist and YouTube star Chris Harris and reviewer and TV presenter Rory Reid will also join the show, in a move designed to “cover the entire automotive spectrum,” according to the broadcaster.

BBC Worldwide (BBCWW), which distributes, said the team would “bring with them their own unique and very individual love of cars that will resonate with every type of Top Gear viewer, from the family who enjoy the entertainment values of the show, to aspirational car lovers and fanatical petrolheads.”

Jordan was owner of the Jordan Grand Prix team and gave F1 legend Michael Schumacher his first start, while Schmitz previously featured in the show during seasons five and 11.

Reid was recruited from the show’s 2015 public auditions and is a journalist who launched and presented CNET’s Car Tech channel.

The stakes are high for the BBC to make a success of the revamped show, which has had a tumultuous 12 months.

The BBC sacked previous host Jeremy Clarkson after he punched a producer, with his fellow presenters James May and Richard Hammond subsequently joining him to launch a new motoring series for Amazon. Since then the revamped show’s exec producer has left, as has BBC2’s channel controller.

The show, set to air in May, is one of BBCWW’s most profitable and has been estimated to pull in around £50m (US$73m) annually through both finished programme sales and format deals. It is currently being prepped for BBCWW’s sales event Showcase in Liverpool later this month.

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