'Top Gear' Host Eddie Jordan Lays Into 'Past It' Jeremy Clarkson

‘Top Gear’ co-host Eddie Jordan has hit out at the show’s former presenting team, insisting he thought the show had “run out of juice” in the lead-up to Jeremy Clarkson’s departure.

Last year, Clarkson was infamously sacked after more than a decade with the show, following a bust-up with a producer, with co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May choosing to quit in the weeks that followed.

The trio have since been replaced by a new seven-strong team, headed by Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, on which Eddie Jordan is also a member.

Describing the former hosts’ final years with the show, Eddie has told The Mirror: “I’m a big fan of what [Clarkson] did in the past but I have to be honest and tell it like it is.

“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.”

He continued: “I personally felt the old show had run out of juice and our version is much, much better and will ultimately be more successful.”

Eddie also stuck up for new host Chris Evans, who has come under fire from some viewers since the ‘Top Gear’ reboot launched last month.

He insisted: “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.”

Eddie previously laid into Clarkson in the lead-up to the new series, admitting he was keen for their version of ‘Top Gear’ to be seen as superior to the old hosts’.

Meanwhile, Clarkson, Hammond and May are set to unveil their own new project, ‘The Grand Tour’, which will begin streaming on Amazon Prime in the autumn.

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