BRITISH TV and radio personality Chris Evans will replace Jeremy Clarkson as the lead presenter of an all new “Top Gear” lineup, the BBC has announced.

    Evans said he was “thrilled” to get the job, describing the motoring show as his “favorite program of all time.”

    “I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward,” he added.

    Clarkson was dropped in March after punching a producer while on location.

    Car enthusiast Evans, who has signed a three-year deal with the BBC Two show, had been tipped to replace his good friend Clarkson but had previously insisted he was not interested.

    An “all new” lineup means Clarkson’s co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May will not be involved.

    Production on the new series of “Top Gear” will start in the next few weeks and the BBC said more information would be announced in due course.

    Clarkson was suspended, then dropped, by the BBC in March following a “fracas” with a producer at a hotel.

    His final appearance on “Top Gear” will be shown June 28. The episode will be made up of two films shot before Clarkson was suspended, with Hammond and May presenting links from the studio.

    Viewers will see Clarkson, Hammond and May behind the wheel of classic cars and beaten-up 4x4s in their final challenges as a trio.(SD-Agencies)