Matt LeBlanc Is Allegedly Threatening To Quit Top Gear If Chris Evans Doesn't Go First

With Top Gear nearing the end of its first series under the stewardship of Chris Evans, there’s yet another newspaper report claiming to know of trouble behind the scenes. According to The Sun, co-star Matt LeBlanc isn’t happy with the way in which Evans is treating the Top Gear team.

“The team does not gel at all, and the atmosphere between the presenters is decidedly frosty,” The Sun quotes its unnamed ‘show source’ as saying, adding: “Matt has already indicated that he won’t continue on any further series if Chris remains a part of it. And he is far from the only one who isn’t happy.”

The source also claims that Evans is “jealous” of the superior critical reception of co-stars Chris Harris and Rory Reid and “doesn’t encourage them in any way.”

Of course, The Sun isn’t known for being a bastion of accuracy or impartial reporting, so all of this could turn out to be utter nonsense. Indeed, many newspapers also reported on Evans taking a smaller role to allow more screen time for the better received Harris and Reid, something we know to be complete BS as the pair appearing in each of the final four episodes was always part of the plan - the segments are filmed months in advance and Reid told us as much in an interview weeks ago.

Tabloid reports of trouble behind the scenes aside, it’s not all bad news for the show. Episode five had a good mix of interesting features - Reid’s Jaguar F-Type SVR piece was a highlight - and after a decline in overnight audience figures for every episode, ratings have started to go back up for the first time. The show had fallen from 4.4 to 2.3 million viewers from the first episode to the fourth, but episode five netted 2.7 million.