11 Things You Didn't Know About Top Gear Presenters

If Matt LeBlanc seemed like an unlikely choice for Top Gear host, he's certainly got familial credentials. His father worked as a mechanic for much of his life.

A 2007 list released by Brylcreem ranked Richard Hammond's barnet as the best haircut on television. In the same year, James May picked up the corresponding award for worst haircut on television.

Jeremy Clarkson's great-great-great grandfather was John Kilner, the inventor of the Kilner jar used to preserve fruit and other perishables.

James May was relieved of his journalistic duties with Autocar magazine after pulling a prank. Tasked with writing up the publications Road Test Yearbook, he spelt out a cheeky message with the first letter of each entry.

Denim jeans declined in popularity in the late 1990s, a trend linked to their popularity with middle-aged men — this is sometimes referred to as 'the Clarkson effect' in the industry.

Despite being derided as a slow-coach by his co-presenters, James May has been able to reach top speed on occasion. In 2010, he reached a top speed of 259.11 mph in a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport edition.

We all remember the vigour with which Craig Charles presented Robot Wars — but not so many know that he was a late replacement. The first series of the show was actually hosted by none other than Jeremy Clarkson.

In 2006, Richard Hammond was injured in a widely publicized dragster crash during Top Gear filming. Afterward, the host noted that the biggest change following the accident was that he'd developed a taste for celery.

Chris Evans was famously married to Billie Evans, but has noted that she proposed to him as a present on his 35th birthday. The pair were wed in a £200 ceremony in Las Vegas.

In the early 2000s, Chris Evans' company Ginger Productions put together a daytime show featuring Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin, with Evans claiming that he'd set up a market stall if it wasn't successful. The programme was axed after a year, and he made good on that promise.

Matt LeBlanc will join the Top Gear team in 2016 — but he's no stranger to the show. In its eighteenth series, LeBlanc set the best time in the Kia Cee'd, beating former champ Rowan Atkinson by just 0.1 of a second.