It's the BBC's dream line-up! New Top Gear hosts revealed and the internet is quick to notice there's 'a black guy, a woman and a foreigner' (and, of course, a ginger) 

  • Chris Evans is heading new-look show after departure of Jeremy Clarkson
  • BBC last week revealed Friends actor Matt LeBlanc would appear on show
  • Others are Eddie Jordan, Sabine Schmitz, Rory Reid and Chris Harris
  • Relatively-unknown Reid got on show by submitting an audition tape
  • He calls himself 'the lovechild of Idris Elba and Jeremy Clarkson' 
  • Fans comment that the line up is 'very PC' and 'the BBC's dream'
  • See Top Gear line-up updates at www.dailymail.co.uk/topgear 

Top Gear fans have called the show's new line-up 'very BBC', joking that it now includes 'a woman, a black guy and a ginger'.

The corporation today unveiled the full seven-person team due to host the new-look programme when it returns to screens in May.

As well as the previously-announced Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, the new team includes former Formula One boss Eddie Jordan, German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, YouTube star Chris Harris and unheard-of technology journalist Rory Reid.

Fans went online commenting that the line-up suggests the show will be very different from its famously politically incorrect style under former hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

The new series of Top Gear will be presented by (right to left) Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Matt LeBlanc, Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Eddie Jordan and The Stig

The new series of Top Gear will be presented by (right to left) Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Matt LeBlanc, Chris Evans, Chris Harris, Eddie Jordan and The Stig

Fans of the show went online to say that the notoriously politically incorrect show seemed to have changed

Fans of the show went online to say that the notoriously politically incorrect show seemed to have changed

Matt Williams wrote: 'See Top Gear made their new line up very PC by covering every base. Not like old Top Gear.'

And Daren Savage added: 'Nice to see the BBC Top Gear covering every politically incorrect angle with 6 new presenters, woman, black guy, old guy, ginger.'

After revealing Friends actor Matt LeBlanc would host the show last week, former Formula One boss Eddie Jordan was today named as another presenter.

As well as Evans, the new duo will join German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, YouTube star Chris Harris and relative-unknown Rory Reid.

Reid, who once rapped a car review called 'Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II: Poetry in motion', got his place on the show by submitting a 30-second audition tape to the BBC. 

He previously appeared in Gadget Geeks series on Sky 1 and was a presenter on the Fast, Furious & Funny YouTube channel.

Other hit back at  critics, saying the  team were chosen due to their talents rather than the boxes they ticked

Other hit back at critics, saying the team were chosen due to their talents rather than the boxes they ticked

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, who previously enjoyed injected the show with famously un-PC jokes and humour, will appear on their new Amazon motoring programme

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, who previously enjoyed injected the show with famously un-PC jokes and humour, will appear on their new Amazon motoring programme

Reid said today: 'When I submitted my 30-second audition tape, I knew the odds were very firmly against me, as the auditions were open to absolutely everybody.

'To be the only person to make it through the open audition process makes me immensely proud.

JUST TO MAKE SURE THEY REALISE: JOKERS POKE FUN AT HOST'S SHIRT

Online jokers said Top Gear's new woman presenter must have been told to wear a T-shirt with a female symbol on it to remind viewers she is from the opposite sex to other hosts.

Sabine Schmitz is pictured in the line-up with a classical symbol of Venus, often used to denote a woman, on her T-shirt.

One viewer joked: 'Sticking the female symbol on the female presenter just to get the point across that new Top Gear is sort of diverse.'

'I've been a Top Gear fan for decades, but more than that, I live and breathe cars in a way that is perfectly compatible with the show.

'I'm looking forward to bringing my brand of knowledge, energy and humour to what promises to be a very exciting new series.' 

Describing Reid on his Radio 2 breakfast show this morning, Evans said: 'Rory was plucked from the public 30-second video auditions. He's knowledgeable, funny cool and warm.

'That's not an easy combo. And he's a brilliant storyteller. His audition stuck out a mile.'

Eddie Jordan is an Irish former racing driver and team owner who recently helped present the BBC's coverage of Formula 1.

He founded the Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula 1 constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005 and launched the careers of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine.

Reacting to the announcement today, Jordan said: 'I'm giddy with excitement to be joining Chris and the team. I have such enormous respect for all my fellow presenters and I politely ask that they go easy on these old bones.

'Cars are in my DNA and although I've been fortunate enough to accomplish most things I ever aspired to in motorsport, presenting Top Gear is quite simply the icing on the cake.' 

Sabine Schmitz, a racing driver who hosted Germany's version of Top Gear, D Motor, and Chris Harris, who has his own YouTube channel called Chris Harris On Cars, had previously been named as being part of the new team.  Schmitz was seen filming with Evans earlier this year.

In a press release sent out by the BBC this morning, The Stig is reported to have sent the Morse code message: '-.-. .... . .-- .. . --..-- / .-- . .----. .-. . / .... --- -- . .-.-.-'

This translates as the iconic Star Wars line: 'Chewie, we're home.'

Others on Twitter poked fun at the photo released by the BBC of its new team, comparing it to kids TV shows

Others on Twitter poked fun at the photo released by the BBC of its new team, comparing it to kids TV shows

Some joked about the size of the burgeoning number of hosts, which has increased from three to six

Some joked about the size of the burgeoning number of hosts, which has increased from three to six

Evans was brought in to revamp the show last year and will have to try to emulate the affection for former line-up of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond among the programme's loyal fans.

The trio have signed what is reportedly a lucrative deal and are set to launch their own motoring show on Amazon Prime later this year.

Meet Top Gear's unknown new presenter who got the job from a 30-second audition tape, calls himself the love child of Idris Elba and Jeremy Clarkson and once posed with two shotguns

Top Gear's previously-unknown new presenter Rory Reid describes himself as the 'lovechild of Idris Elba and Jeremy Clarkson'.

The self-styled 'South London boy' got the job by sending in a 30-second audition tape which impressed chief host Chris Evans.

If the video was anything like a 'showreel' he posted on YouTube, it would have showed Evans that Reid is not afraid to push the boundaries.

A photo posted on his Facebook page in 2012 shows new presenter Rory Reid posing with two guns

A photo posted on his Facebook page in 2012 shows new presenter Rory Reid posing with two guns

In an earlier discussion of the show online, he said someone would be 'insane' to try to take over from his idol

In an earlier discussion of the show online, he said someone would be 'insane' to try to take over from his idol

Reid, who says he is Clarkson's love child, announced his new role on Twitter today in casual fashion

Reid, who says he is Clarkson's love child, announced his new role on Twitter today in casual fashion

An 2012 photo from his Facebook page shows him posing with two shotguns at a shooting range, with the caption 'yippee ki yay'.

When a friend joked: 'You going after Clarkson seriously then?', he replied: 'Taking no prisoners.'

When discussing Top Gear with a friend on Twitter in 2011 he said someone would have to be 'insane' to take over from Clarkson and the others.

He wrote: 'I can't imagine a change of Top Gear cast. The amount of HATE a newbie would get for replacing one or joining would be insane.'

His YouTube 'greatest hits' film shows him licking a martini from his hands after he spilled the drink during a test of a car's handling system. 

In one scene he is seen swearing after finding out a Porsche is a hybrid, and in another he is seen simulating sex with a red Mercedes.

His rhetorical style isn't unlike his idol Clarkson and he is happy to be similarly outlandish. 

In his YouTube 'showreel', he tests a car's handling by having an assistant hold a martini while he drives

In his YouTube 'showreel', he tests a car's handling by having an assistant hold a martini while he drives

Reid has previously recorded a number of unorthodox car reviews, including a rap about a Rolls-Royce

Reid has previously recorded a number of unorthodox car reviews, including a rap about a Rolls-Royce

In another sketch, he jokes that he would sell his grandmother's kidneys for an Alfa Romeo, and holds up a bag of blood and guts to the camera.

A separate video on YouTube shows an unorthadox review of a Rolls-Royce, in which Reid raps his views of the car.

To a piano background music, he raps: 'A nefarious man might think the interior's inferior, but before you even get inside this breathless ride you're mesmerized.'

Reid has presented on the Fast Furious & Funny YouTube channel, which describes itself saying: 'We do all the things you've always wanted to do with your motor but never had the guts or insurance to do!'

The father-of-two is also editor-in-chief of online car review site Recombu.

The news of Reid's new role was published on his Recombu website today, which recommended him to fans of the show.

The site stated: 'Will Reid be any good? If you like his videos on Recombu Cars or any of his previous work, the answer is a resounding yes. He's a smart cookie, clearly loves cars and knows his stuff.'

In another sketch, he is seen offering his 'grandmother's kidney's' for an Alfa Romeo he says is 'deep'

In another sketch, he is seen offering his 'grandmother's kidney's' for an Alfa Romeo he says is 'deep'

Relatively-unknown new presenter Rory Reid (left) previously appeared on Sky 1's Gadget Geeks

Relatively-unknown new presenter Rory Reid (left) previously appeared on Sky 1's Gadget Geeks

 

 

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