CHRIS Harris stars in Top Gear with Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness.
But what did Chris do before Top Gear and is he really a racing driver? Here’s the lowdown on the presenter fronting the latest series…
Chris is a 44-year-old journalist who has made a career in the automotive field as a writer, presenter AND driver.
He is reportedly married with three children although he likes to keep his personal life private.
His writing credits start with Autocar magazine, where he climbed the ranks to ‘road-test editor’, writing opinion pieces and reviews on cars.
He has also appeared in a series of YouTube videos and created his own show Chris Harris on Cars, which was later bought and moved to the BBC’s website.
Before moving over to the main programme, Chris and Rory Reid hosted the spin-off show of the main series, called Extra Gear.
On top of his reviewing responsibilities, he also races – and has taken part in the Nurburgring 24 hours endurance test three times in 2010, 2015 and 2016.
However, his team had to pull out of the 2016 race after their car was wrecked in a practice round.
Peugeot 205
Peugeot 106
Peugeot 106
Alfa 145 Cloverleaf
Lotus Elise
Porsche 911 Clubsport
Lamborghini Gallardo
Lotus Exige
Porsche 993 RS
Porsche 993 GT2
Ferrari 599
Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0
Ferrari FF
Peugeot 205 Rallye
Harris admits: “I still have over 20 cars. Old Range Rovers, 2CVs, Peugeot 205s. Mostly old rubbish.”
Due to his sometimes blunt reviews, car manufacturers have sometimes taken exception to his reviews – causing a series of spats.
The first was in 2011, when he slated Ferrari and called them ‘profoundly irritating’ among other complaints – but he has since reconciled with the brand.
A similar argument occurred in 2014 with Lambourghini, after Chris stated that the car looked better than it could actually drive, and claiming that the brakes on the car caught fire while he was driving one.
The pair have cut ties and he hasn’t been able to review one since.
Traditionally, the BBC releases one series a year, with the latest Top Gear – season 29 – on our screens at 8pm every Sunday on BBC One.
On October 22, 2018, it was revealed that Paddy McGuinness and Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff would be the next hosts of Top Gear.
The pair were brought in to replace the exiting Matt LeBlanc, who decided to leave the show to spend more time with his family and friends.
They are joined as presenters by current host Chris Harris.
