Gear up for more Matt LeBlanc.
The BBC announced Monday that the actor will return as host of “Top Gear” next year.
Chris Harris and Rory Reid will join LeBlanc, along with regular appearances by Eddie Jordan, Sabine Schmitz and the anonymous driver in a helmet known as the Stig, the network said.
When LeBlanc was cast in February, it marked the first time the enormously popular driving program had ever named a non-British host in its 39-year history.
LeBlanc will go on without former co-host Chris Evans, who resigned in July.
The pair had been hired for a revamped version of the show after previous host Jeremy Clarkson was fired for hitting his producer. Clarkson and two other “Top Gear” veterans will debut a driving show on Amazon in November.
There were whisperings of tension between LeBlanc and Evans. BBC execs said the “Friends” star drove into the hearts of “Top Gear” devotees.
“Matt was hugely popular with ‘Top Gear’ viewers last series with his humour, warmth and obvious passion for cars and for the show, so I couldn’t be more delighted that he’s agreed to come back and do more for us,” Mark Linsey, the director of BBC Studios, said in a statement.
Le Blanc’s new CBS comedy, “Man With a Plan,” premieres Oct. 24.
