LeBlanc keeps Top Gear seat

Top Gear’s 23rd season’s presenter line-up

Top Gear host Matt LeBlanc has agreed a deal with the BBC that will see him front the show for a further two seasons.

The BBC revealed earlier this month that it would not be replacing former host Chris Evans following his high-profile exit in July.

Evans said he was leaving the pubcaster’s rebooted version of Top Gear after one season of poor ratings having been brought in to replace previous presenting trio Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, who departed last year after Clarkson hit a producer.

The 23rd season of the hit show that premiered in May slumped to fewer than two million viewers per episode in its latter episodes.

LeBlanc, who will front the 24th and the 25th seasons, will return with co-hosts Chris Harris and Rory Reid as well as regular appearances from its first female co-host Sabine Schmitz, F1 veteran Eddie Jordan and pro driver The Stig.

Patrick Holland, BBC2 channel editor, said LeBlanc is “a huge talent whose love of cars is infectious” while Mark Linsey, director of BBC Studios, said LeBlanc had been “hugely popular” with Top Gear viewers.

Linsey previously said he expected the revamped show’s ratings to be down on previous seasons and said it needed “time to grow.”