Top Gear co-host Rory Reid likened the relaunched show to entering a war zone as he admitted being “very, very surprised” by the hostility directed towards it.

With Chris Evans the first casualty of the much-maligned series, the newcomer has predicted “a pretty big change” for the next one.

Rory Reid said joining Top Gear was "like being a soldier parachuted into a war” (BBC/PA)
Rory Reid said joining Top Gear was “like being a soldier parachuted into a war” (BBC/PA)

Speaking about his experience, he told redbull.com: “It’s been a very intense experience – intense is probably the best word.

“The level of scrutiny that the show is under has just been absolutely immense.

“The way I thought about it was like being a soldier parachuted into a war, and you have some people that are on your side, and some people that are not on your side, and then you have the rest of them who are just watching to see what happens anyway.”

Rory said he was surprised by the hostility level after taking over from former hosts Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May (Liam McBurney/PA)
Rory said he was surprised by the hostility level after taking over from former hosts Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May (Liam McBurney/PA)

He admitted he was surprised at how difficult it would be to take over from the legacy of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, but acknowledged it was “an institution”, not just a TV show, to fans.

He said: “It’s like if the Wu-Tang Clan took over from One Direction. The fans of One Direction would be like, ‘What the hell are we watching, who are these people?’…That’s a massive challenge for people to get used to.

“But even so, I was still very, very surprised at the level of hostility.”

Chris quit the show after falling ratings and a mauling by critics, but he maintained he had given it his “best shot”.

Rory said he was yet to sign a contract for the new series, and did not know if anyone else had,  but he confirmed that “the expectation is that we will continue without Chris”.

He thought it unlikely that the BBC would continue with Matt LeBlanc as a solo lead host.

Programme Name: Top Gear 2016 - TX: n/a - Episode: Top Gear 2016 Ireland (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: puts the Rolls Royce Dawn through its paces in Ireland's Ring of Kerry today for the new series of Top Gear which will premiere on BBC Two next month. Matt LeBlanc - (C) BBC World Wide Limited - Photographer: Gus Gregory
He expects that the rest of the team will step up to join Matt LeBlanc (Gus Gregory/BBC)

“I think they’d incorporate the rest of us to make it like an ensemble piece.

“We’ll see what happens, but I expect it to be a pretty big change, and that things will be pretty different for series 24,” he said.