Matt LeBlanc Officially Announced As New Top Gear Host

‘That One Where Matt LeBlanc Hosted Top Gear’ – Words by David Ross

In news that has delighted fans of TV sitcom Friends and left everyone else with a empty sense of indifference and mild anxiety, Matt ‘Joey Tribiani’ LeBlanc has been named as one of the hosts of BBC‘s flagship car show Top Gear.

“Who gives a good god damn!” you might be spluttering to yourself, as you awkwardly shovel in another spoonful of cereal. Well, if the sudden crashing together of two of television’s most successful light- entertainment shows doesn’t tickle your g-spot I’m sorry, but we’re both here, so let’s get on with it.

How did this bizarre state of affairs come about? If you’d care to cast your mind back a little you’ll remember that last year professional big-mouth and former host of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson decided to ‘settle it like a man’ during an altercation with producer Oisin Tymon and punched him right in his highly-paid face. The fallback from this seemingly brilliant decision resulted in Clarkson being politely asked to leave the BBC and take his foghorn-like wit elsewhere.

Now, be you a Clarkson detractor or supporter the question still remained: “Which sitcom throwback will emerge to save the show from certain demise?!?”

Of course, it was always going to be sandwich loving, lady chasing, ‘Days of Our Lives’ star, Joey Tribiani. Who else could make us giggle at his cheeky antics whilst also making us want to cradle him gently like a newborn baby? But hindsight is 20/20 and it took the show’s producers nearly a year to arrive at this seemingly forgone conclusion.

Leblanc joins radio and TV host Chris Evans (no, not that ripped guy from The Avengers – although speaking of punchable faces…), journalist Rory Reid as well as a number of other familiar and not-so-familiar faces to those of us who know the franchise.

You can catch the new season of Top Gear on BBC2, or wherever you illegally stream your overseas content from.