ITV attempts to overtake Top Gear with its new motoring show 'The Drive'
Top Gear’s long awaited relaunch could face some speed bumps following ITV’s announcement of its new celebrity hosted show, The Drive.
With the absence of the hugely popular Top Gear, ITV have stepped into the fray with a new offering that could tap into viewer's motoring appetite and steal some of Chris Evans’ thunder.
The broadcaster has signed up Louis Walsh, Mariella Frostrup, Angus Deayton, weather presenter Laura Tobin, comedian Johnny Vegas, rapper Professor Green, singer Ella Eyre and Olympic athlete turned-presenter Colin Jackson for a new five-part series.
The Drive will launch this coming summer and will be hosted by Vernon Kay with former professional driver Jason Plato offering his expert advice.
Asif Zubairy, commissioning editor, Entertainment, ITV said: “We are excited to have Vernon and Jason on board for this brand new driving show with a mischievous twist. We have a great line up of celebrities and I can’t wait to see what they can do behind the wheel.”
It will launch around the same time as the BBC’s prized show and is reported to use a similar format as Top Gear’s “star in a reasonably priced car” time-trial segment.
Top Gear is scheduled to begin broadcasting the new series on 8 May with Chris Evans at the helm however production has been beset with problems including the departure of Chris Evan’s hand-picked executive producer Lisa Clark.