Matt LeBlanc 'set to return as main Top Gear host following Chris Evans' departure... with a £1m pay packet' 

By Kate Thomas for MailOnline

Published: 19:53 EST, 11 August 2016 | Updated: 05:07 EST, 12 August 2016

He recently revealed he was open to the prospect of returning to Top Gear.

And Matt LeBlanc is allegedly preparing to return as the main host of the BBC motoring series following co-host Chris Evans' departure - for the cool sum of £1million.

Show sources have reportedly told the Daily Mirror the Friends star has agreed to return and is preparing to ink a new deal.

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Lucrative deal: Matt LeBlanc is allegedly preparing to return as the main host of the BBC motoring series following co-host Chris Evans' departure - for the cool sum of £1million

Lucrative deal: Matt LeBlanc is allegedly preparing to return as the main host of the BBC motoring series following co-host Chris Evans' departure - for the cool sum of £1million

An insider said: 'Matt was one of the positive aspects of the last series, he is keen to return and we definitely want him back so it will happen, we just need to dot the ‘i’s’ and cross the ‘ts’.

'We think he will be back filming soon and he is excited about some of the ideas we have lined up.'

Matt was reportedly paid £500,000 for the last series, according to the newspaper.

MailOnline has contacted Matt's representative for comment.

Top Gear has undergone a makeover since long-time hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May quit in 2015 - to mixed reviews. 

An insider said: 'Matt was one of the positive aspects of the last series, he is keen to return and we definitely want him back'

An insider said: 'Matt was one of the positive aspects of the last series, he is keen to return and we definitely want him back'

Current line-up: Top Gear has undergone a makeover since long-time hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May quit in 2015 - to mixed reviews

Current line-up: Top Gear has undergone a makeover since long-time hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May quit in 2015 - to mixed reviews

Asked by television critics in Los Angeles if he would come back to the BBC programme, LeBlanc said: 'I don't know. I'd like to. There's nothing officially happening yet. Follow the BBC.' 

Radio 2 DJ Evans has previously said the motoring show and the former Friends star 'were made for each other' and heaped praise on LeBlanc for his dedication to the programme.

Evans described working on Top Gear as an 'honour, privilege and a pleasure' and he had tried his best, but said his stint in the driving seat was 'not meant to be'.

The BBC has said it has no plans to replace Evans when Top Gear returns for a 24th season.

Facing questions from critics, LeBlanc said his favourite part about appearing on the series was 'probably the travel', adding that he visited places including South Africa, Morocco and Ireland.

No hard feelings: Radio 2 DJ Evans has previously said the motoring show and the former Friends star 'were made for each other' and heaped praise on LeBlanc for his dedication to the programme

No hard feelings: Radio 2 DJ Evans has previously said the motoring show and the former Friends star 'were made for each other' and heaped praise on LeBlanc for his dedication to the programme

He added: 'That show has a pretty broad demographic. Everybody can relate to an automobile.'

LeBlanc was promoting his new show Man With A Plan on American network CBS, in which he plays a father who cares for his children after his wife takes a full-time job.

He said: 'This is a new thing, a new character for me, a whole new side of me and I'm looking forward to it.'

LeBlanc added that his tenure on sitcom Friends made him critical of comedies, saying: 'I'm a joke snob. I don't love what you call low-hanging fruit. I don't like that kind of stuff.

'I tend to go for a smarter joke, and if there's a discussion about a joke that not everyone will get it, that doesn't scare me away from the joke. ... I'd rather do jokes that take a little bit of thought.'

Keeping coy: Asked by television critics in Los Angeles if he would come back to the BBC programme, LeBlanc said: 'I don't know. I'd like to. There's nothing officially happening yet. Follow the BBC'

Keeping coy: Asked by television critics in Los Angeles if he would come back to the BBC programme, LeBlanc said: 'I don't know. I'd like to. There's nothing officially happening yet. Follow the BBC'

Stepping out: Chris Evans he made his way back to his car after wrapping his breakfast radio show on Monday morning
Stepping out: Chris Evans he made his way back to his car after wrapping his breakfast radio show on Monday morning

Stepping out: Chris Evans he made his way back to his car after wrapping his breakfast radio show on Monday morning

He's off: The presenter was  seen climbing into the driver's seat of his blue Rolls Royce

He's off: The presenter was  seen climbing into the driver's seat of his blue Rolls Royce

Low key: Evans sported a baseball and a weathered blue jacket for his outing in London on Monday
Low key: Evans sported a baseball and a weathered blue jacket for his outing in London on Monday

Low key: Evans sported a baseball and a weathered blue jacket for his outing in London on Monday 

Don't mind me: The presenter was back out in the same outfit on Tuesday 

Don't mind me: The presenter was back out in the same outfit on Tuesday 

Coffee run: Evans sipped a hot beverage as he left Radio 2 studios on Friday morning
Coffee run: Evans sipped a hot beverage as he left Radio 2 studios on Friday morning

Coffee run: Evans sipped a hot beverage as he left Radio 2 studios on Friday morning

 

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