Chris Evans’s new Top Gear is set to face one fewer rival after ITV moved to axe The Drive after just one series.
The Vernon Kay-fronted show, which has been called an extended version of Top Gear’s “star in a reasonably priced car” segment, features celebrities including former X Factor judge Louis Walsh, presenter Mariella Frostrup and rapper Professor Green racing each other in different cars each week.
The show got out of the grid with just under 2 million viewers tuning in to the first of its five episodes. But it has failed to subsequently build its audience, with the penultimate episode last week attracting an average just 1.4 million viewers.
The Sun reported on Wednesday that the show would not be recommissioned for a second series. “Any suggestion that Drive won’t be returning for a second series is pure speculation and we will make a decision in due course,” said a spokeswoman for ITV.
The Guardian’s review of the show said “even Top Gear fans will be bored silly” with Drive.
Drive did not go head to head with Top Gear, but the BBC will be pleased to have one less rival motoring show on TV. The new-look BBC2 show is scheduled to return later this month.
Former Top Gear presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are set to debut their new, as yet unnamed, series on Amazon’s Prime video service later this year.
