Chris Evans has spoken out about ‘insider’ reports that he is difficult to work with on the set of ‘Top Gear’.
The 49-year-old presenter, who is fronting the reboot of the BBC motoring show, hit back after reports suggested executive producer Lisa Clark left the show after just five months because of his behaviour.
Chris used his latest column in the Mail on Sunday to let off a bit of steam and to set the record straight ahead of the show’s launch in May.
"As we count down to our first show of the new series, in (not James) May, the seemingly inexhaustible stream of ‘insider’ stories keeps on coming, my most recent favourite being about how ‘unprofessional’ I have been behaving ‘on set’," he wrote.
"Just a small point here. We don’t actually have a set yet for me to misbehave on. Not only has it not been built, but we have only just signed off the final design.
"Once it is built, however, I promise I will try not to let the ‘insider’ down."
He added: "In fact I am channelling my inner creative rage at this very moment. And the real stars of the show also just keep on coming, from all directions."
Mark Linsey, acting director of BBC Television, has previously backed the presenter, calling him a ‘consummate professional’.
He said last month: “It is rubbish to suggest Chris Evans’s behaviour on the set of Top Gear has been in any way unprofessional.
“Chris is a consummate professional and a real team-player.
"He is a passionate presenter who commits his heart and soul into everything he does - whether his Radio 2 show, Children In Need or Top Gear - and we are extremely fortunate to have him leading the show.”
Last week ‘Top Gear’ found itself at the centre of yet more controversy when co-presenter Matt LeBlanc was seen performing a series of stunts in a car next to the Cenotaph war memorial in central London.
Chris was forced to apologise, adding that he did not want the footage to be included in show.
He told the BBC: “That footage will definitely not go on the air, no question about it.”
He added: “We’re all mortified by it, so absolutely, one hundred percent, it should not be shown.”
“It’s not my decision, but if it was my decision then I would say that particular scene shouldn’t be shown, and I think that everybody will agree,” he said.