Chris Evans told his friend he "wouldn't touch 'Top Gear' with a barge pole".
Chris Evans
The 49-year-old DJ has signed up to present a new version of the BBC car show after Jeremy Clarkson was axed earlier this year following a fracas with a producer but Chris previously insisted to 'Deal or no Deal's Noel Edmonds that he didn't want the job.
Noel told the Daily Mirror: "It's interesting. I was a guest on Chris's boat at the Monaco Grand Prix and we had a chat. Chris said he wouldn't touch Top Gear with a barge pole.
"He said how tired he was, and he did look tired. And so I was stunned when within weeks he not only had shown interest but accepted the job. I just hope he's not taking on too much. He's a brilliant talent."
Noel, 66, also warned that Chris will need support from the BBC to stop him burning out.
He said: "He's also a mercurial talent in a Kenny Everett and Clarkson mould. He will need to be managed and supported otherwise he could just burn out and make some shocking mistake."
While Clarkson's contract was not renewed after he punched a producer, Noel believes the BBC did not handle the situation properly at all.
He explained: "It was just yet another example of extraordinarily bad management that wouldn't be tolerated in a private company. It is difficult to think of a better way of handling something more badly.
"You've got the big wigs saying no one is bigger than the BBC and they pull the show, denying the viewers the chance to see whatever they'd shot. As management, it was right up there with running a cruise liner on to a heap of rocks."
Tagged in Jeremy Clarkson Chris Evans Noel Edmonds