BBC Two boss Kim Shillinglaw has now said that Top Gear presenter Chris Evans' confirmation that there would "definitely" be a female co-host on the new version of the show may not necessarily be true.
Indicating at least one of his co-hosts would be of the opposite gender, Evans said earlier in the week: "Absolutely. But not for the sake of it. I can confirm that definitely 100%."
This morning (June 18) saw him clarify the previous comments on his Radio 2 breakfast show, where he told listeners: "It was quoted in the papers, and it has been again this morning, that I said yesterday there would definitely be a female co-presenter.
"There'll definitely be a female presence on the show, and that could well be a co-presenter. It could be two. It could be no co-presenters, and film reporter or a driver."
Shillinglaw went on to confirm that while female presenters will be considered for the co-hosting jobs, the final decision "will be about what's right for the show".
Speaking to Steve Hewlett on BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, she said: "It has always been a very male world, hasn't it?
"I think it's a part of thinking about how we could do things differently, to get a lot more spontaneity in to the show.
"I really care about women on television. I really care how that sits in terms of the channel mix as a whole on BBC Two.
"I have never in my life thought about an individual show in terms of gender diktats, and I certainly wouldn't start doing that now."
Evans also confirmed that there would be open auditions for the position of co-host on the show, setting out the criteria for potential candidates.
"You've got to know something about cars - you can be a mechanic, you can be an amateur racing driver, you can be a guy who's a fireman but has been building his own Land Rover in his shed for 5 or 10 years... but you've got to know about cars."
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