Chris Evans quits Top Gear after disastrous first series as he admits: ‘I gave it my best shot but sometimes that’s not enough’
The announcement came just hours after it emerged he was facing a historic sex assault probe
CHRIS Evans has resigned from the new revamped version of Top Gear after just one season at its helm.
The BBC presenter announced the news on Twitter this afternoon, claiming he had given it his "best shot".
Top Gear's audience fell to a new low of two million viewers as the series stalled again in the ratings on Sunday.
It was also that Evans was facing a police probe regarding historic sexual assault claims.
A woman who worked with Evans in the 1990s claims he exposed himself to her and grabbed her breasts.
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Chris Evans tweeted: "Stepping down from Top Gear.
"Gave it my best shot but sometimes that's not enough.
"The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best."
He added: "Full steam ahead then with Radio 2, CarFest, Children In Need, 500 Words and whatever else we can dream up in the future."
Over the last six weeks, Top Gear has struggled to make an impact in the overnights - the figures for the previous day's viewing.
It launched over a Bank Holiday weekend with 4.4 million viewers on May 29.
Top Gear's second episode then plummeted to 2.8 million, and the show never went back above that figure.
Last night's episode limped in with 1.9million viewers.
Assisted by James May and Richard Hammond, the show drew in 5.8million viewers.
However, it ended bitterly when Clarkson was sacked after his infamous "fracas" with a producer over hot food.
However, it appears Evans will continue his work on Radio 2, despite facing a police probe over a historical allegation he exposed himself to a colleague and groped the woman's breasts.
In a BBC statement, Mark Linsey, the director of BBC Studios, said: "Chris is stepping down from his duties on Top Gear.
"He says he gave it his best shot doing everything he could to make the show a success.
"He firmly believes that the right people remain, on both the production team and presenting team to take the show forward and make it the hit we want it to be."
Evans added: "I have never worked with a more committed and driven team than the team I have worked with over the last twelve months.
"I feel like my standing aside is the single best thing I can now do to help the cause. I remain a huge fan of the show, always have been, always will be.
"I will continue to focus on my radio show and the allied events that it encompasses."
Perry McCarthy, the original Top Gear "Stig", said: "It's sad for Chris, but personally I was expecting such an announcement.
"I wasn't expecting it this quickly, but I did think that Chris would step down from it.
"Chris is an enormously popular radio presenter and TV show host but he hasn't quite gelled with this show, he's not really gelling with the viewers.
"It must be a little bit painful for him to receive this reaction from everybody and I don't think he'd want to continue, I probably wouldn't want to continue if I was getting constant criticism either."
Viewers were left unimpressed with his presenting style on the final episode of the series, which aired on last night.
A friend of Evans told he quit because he was sick of the constant criticism he faced.
They said: "Every single day he's been accused of something else. In the end you just think 'f*** off'.
"If the show had done better in the ratings, perhaps the battering would have been less fierce. Who knows."
However, after last night's episode many took to Twitter to insist Evans should be sacked from the show.
One wrote: “#TopGear – lose Chris Evans, keep Matt LeBlanc. Way better than I thought he would be!”
While another said: “#TopGear Stop shouting Chris Evans. BBC, please please let him go next season. He has his Radio show!”
Another added: “I reckon if Top Gear got rid of Chris Evans and Eddy Jordan, kept Le Blanc and the other 2 fellas, it’d be a much better show.”
'I GAVE IT MY BEST': EVANS'S ANNOUNCEMENT
"Stepping down from Top Gear. Gave it my best shot but sometimes that's not enough. The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best.
"Full steam ahead then with Radio 2, CarFest, Children In Need, 500 Words and whatever else we can dream up in the future."
"I have never worked with a more committed and driven team than the team I have worked with over the last twelve months.
"I feel like my standing aside is the single best thing I can now do to help the cause. I remain a huge fan of the show, always have been, always will be.
"I will continue to focus on my radio show and the allied events that it encompasses."