Top Gear: Eddie Jordan defends Chris Evans, says Jeremy Clarkson is 'past it'

'Our version is much, much better and will ultimately be more successful'

Eddie Jordan (Getty)

Chris Evans’s Top Gear hasn’t been quite the hit everyone was expecting, with reviews being rather negative and ratings falling rapidly.

However, according to part-time host Eddie Jordan, when Jeremy Clarkson was helming the show, Top Gear was “past it” and the presenting trio had “run out of juice,” adding that the newly revamped version will “ultimately be more successful”.

“I know and like Jeremy Clarkson - I’m a big fan of what he did in the past but I have to be honest and tell it like it is,” he told The Mirror.

“Jeremy and the other guys had a very successful past but the point is - it is in the past and Jeremy is past it when it comes to Top Gear. His time has come and gone.

“There has been too much time spent focusing on them - but it was a very different show then. I personally felt the old show had run out of juice and our version is much, much better and will ultimately be more successful.”

Explaining his viewpoint, the F1 owner said Evans’s iteration has “wider appeal,” detailing how the presenting team has all bases covered.

He added: “Chris has done a brilliant job in difficult circumstances. What Chris is attempting is something different and better. He hasn’t got to panic. He has got to believe in himself.

“He has got to find something inside - like we used to urge our racing drivers. We used to want them to become more arrogant.

“That is what Chris needs to find - he has got to arrogantly believe this programme will be better, will be better run, will be more diverse and different. It will be a must-watch show.”

Recently, Friends star Matt LeBlanc admitted he only took the Top Gear presenting gig because he “needed a job”.