Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May have left some enormous shoes to fill when it comes to hosting Top Gear. But we now know that the three new presenters will at the very least include Chris Evans, maybe or maybe not a woman, and also you. Because TG is now holding open auditions. Really.
Your dreams and/or nightmares may just come true.
Evans announced the auditions just a little while ago, and he actually does make a great case for why this isn’t a terrible idea. Basically, it boils down to the fact that both Hammond and May were chosen based on auditions, and that worked out okay, didn’t it? Via TopGear.com:
“The way Richard and James were found was by auditioning,” reckons Evans, “so what we’re going to do is hold auditions. Not just for famous people, ex-famous people, up-and-coming famous people, but for people who are watching the show.”
And it really is open to pretty much anybody. The only limiting criteria is that the person has to actually care and know something about cars. That’s it:
“Male, female, old, young, it doesn’t matter. The one thing that does matter is that you’ve got to have a real appetite for cars, and you’ve got to know something about cars.”
Chris added that you don’t need to be an established presenter to apply.
”You can be a mechanic, you can be an amateur racing car driver, you can be a guy who’s a fireman but who’s been building his own Land Rover in his shed for five years, but you’ve got to know about cars…”
Presenting hopefuls - who can apply from all over the world, not just the UK - should record a video clip no longer than 30 seconds.
“It should just be you, to camera from the waist up. No stunts, no gimmicks, just you talking to camera,” said Chris. Presenting wannabees must be over 16. Candidates, Evans announced, would be ‘whittled down’ before being invited to audition live for Evans and the TG production team.
Evans went on to add that Top Gear isn’t necessarily obligated to choose some rando off the street, and you actually have to impress everyone involved.
Oh, and you might not just be joining Evans and the potential-or-potentially-not lady. With the revamp of the world’s greatest car show, it sounds like everything is up for a closer look, including the three-presenter setup:
“Will we have one host, two hosts, three hosts?” he asked. “Will we have hosts who come and have a go depending what’s on the programme that night?”
Sounds like it could get interesting.
Evans is making everyone wait one more day until the official submission forms are posted, but until then, start getting ready. Start fixing your hair. Start working on your teeth. Start practicing the widespread mockery of everyone and everything around you, and be prepared to receive the same.
Oh, and start posting your audition clips here, in the comments. I’m sure they’ll be hilarious.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Contact the author at ballaban@jalopnik.com.
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