Matt LeBlanc has reportedly signed a £2million deal with ‘Top Gear’.
The 49-year-old presenter – who joined the motoring show last year as a sidekick for Chris Evans – has been in talks with the BBC since his one-series contract expired in June but bosses have now given in to his wild pay demands after they lost the ‘Great British Bake Off’ to Channel 4.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "’…Bake Off’ going to Channel 4 was a disaster and a real blow. Losing Matt because of a few diary arrangements would have spun ‘Top Gear’ into crisis yet again…
"In the end they just wanted to sign up Matt as he’s great with the fans and gives the show stability as it’s due to start filming within days."
BBC TV Controller Charlotte Moore, 48, was initially hoping to persuade Paul Hollywood – who has judged on ‘GBBO’ since 2010 – to join ‘Top Gear’ after the baking programme was nabbed by the rival broadcaster earlier this month but has now decided that the former ‘Friends’ star should front it alone for the next two series.
The insider explained: "Charlotte looks like she has really aged in the last couple of weeks and had even offered Paul Hollywood a role on ‘Top Gear’ to try and get him to stay [with the BBC]."
Matt will now take over from Chris, who quit the show in July after he came under fire for a series of live-on-air blunders, as he carries out celebrity interviews and is helped out by Eddie Jordan, Sabine Schmitz, and motoring journalists Chris Harris, and Rory Reid.
However, the BBC haven’t just parted with a lump sum of money in order to keep the actor as they’ve also agreed to work around his work schedule as he’s currently filming the sitcom ‘Man With a Plan’.
Matt LeBlanc signs £2m Top Gear deal
