New Top Gear presenter Chris Evans has said it is "bizarre" that former host Jeremy Clarkson was fired for "losing his rag over his dinner", given the number of high profile controversies he had survived in the past.
Clarkson was sacked from the BBC Two show last year after assaulting the series' former producer, Irishman Oisín Tymon. It was reported that Clarkson was furious when he was told he could not order a steak after a day's filming in North Yorkshire, punching Tymon and using a racially charged expletive.
Van-quished - Jeremy Clarkson's time behind the Top Gear wheel ended last year
In February, Clarkson apologised through his solicitors to his former colleague after Tymon's racial discrimination and personal injury claim was settled, with the figure understood to be in excess of £100,000.
Oisín Tymon - Now working as a development executive with the BBC
When asked in the new issue of the magazine GQ whether Clarkson deserved to be sacked, Evans replied: "What is more fascinating is that he went for what he went for, considering what had gone on before."
"If you look at the chronology of controversy of Top Gear over the last five or six years, it is bizarre that he went for losing his rag over his dinner when there had been international incidents before that," he continued.
Chris Evans paid tribute to Jeremy Clarkson as a presenter
During his time behind the Top Gear wheel, Clarkson was accused of making a number of xenophobic, racist and homophobic comments. While referencing the controversies, Evans also paid to tribute to Clarkson's skills as a broadcaster and writer.
"We used to get on," he said. "I don't know if we still get on because I haven't seen him in ages. But he is one of my heroes. He's entertaining. He was great on Top Gear and I love his writing."
"He is funny," Evans added. "He deconstructs things really well. They say if you can explain complicated things to a six-year-old you know what you're talking about, and I am like his six-year-old."
The new Top Gear presenter line-up, which sees Evans team up with former Friends actor Matt LeBlanc, will debut on BBC Two later this month. Dubliner Eddie Jordan, who is a former motorsport team boss, female motor racing driver Sabine Schmitz and YouTube car reviewer Rory Reid are also set to star.
The new Top Gear line-up
In the GQ interview, Evans dismissed the idea that the diversity of the new line-up is an attempt by the BBC to be politically correct.
"Some people want to infer that, but no: I hired the people I thought we needed," he said.
"My job is to present and when they signed me up they said, 'Do what you want with it'."
Evans and LeBlanc were in Co Kerry last month to film a segment for the show.
Speaking to RTÉ News on location in the West Kerry Gaeltacht, Evans said: "We ended up here because it's over the water. We had to come and film in Ireland: we had to have the Rolls Royce Dawn, we had to have one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world, and we knew the weather was going to be like this [clear blue skies], because it always is, isn't it?"
LeBlanc added: "It was nice - beautiful roads to drive that car on, the people were lovely. I had a really nice time."
The wheel deal: Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans take to the Wild Atlantic Way for new series of #TopGearhttps://t.co/6meOf0ebba
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 16, 2016
Clarkson and his former Top Gear colleagues Richard Hammond and James May are also gearing up for their own new automotive adventures: a series on streaming service Amazon Prime, and a digital media platform for car lovers called DriveTribe. Both are set to launch in the autumn.
James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond - Very busy autumn ahead
