It's 19.41, Tuesday 16 June 2015, UK time.
I have just read that the BBC has contracted broadcaster Chris Evans to a 3-year deal to front the car/caper show 'Top Gear'.
My heart sinks. No, my heart sank when that dangerous, risky, bumptious Jeremy Clarkson ruined a show because he was sacked for physical violence against a colleague, and rightly so. Single-handedly, he destroyed a great concept and a damaged a lucrative BBC brand. Much as I loved his front as a presenter and his banter with his presenting mates, James May and Richard Hammond, he is a dickhead. He has ruined one of my all-time favourite shows, forever. And I'm not even a car guy.
Chris Evans is very successful but, in my ears and head, he is an annoying presenter, full of ego and, at times, a high-pitched delivery. He is a turn-off.
I can see why the BBC - if this contract news is true - is attracted by the disc jockey/presenter. He will probably haul in a new audience from his Radio 2 supporters and his TFI Friday fans.
The BBC might end up saving the brand.
For my taste and that of many others, Clarkson more than crossed a line and deserved his fate. In doing so, he screwed up a fun show, in my opinion, and left the door open for the BBC to recruit lesser presenters to find their feet, a new format and a challenge to keep 'Top Gear' alive as a global business.
I only watched 'Top Gear' for Clarkson, May and Hammond. A variation of Freeman, Hardy and Willis, The Three Stooges or The Three Mustangteers just will not do.
So long. I'm away down the road in a cloud of smoke.
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