Matt LeBlanc said his partnership with Chris Evans on Top Gear will be like Joey and Chandler on Friends.
LeBlanc, 48 – who played Joey in the cult comedy series – joined Evans on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show to discuss “smashing up cars”.
When asked whether their partnership will be like Albert and Costello, Tom and Jerry, Laurel and Hardy, Bert and Ernie, Starsky and Hutch or Rachel and Ross, LeBlanc replied: “Joey and Chandler.”
Evans protested: “I want to be Joey. You’ve got to be Chandler for a while.”
The Golden Globe winning actor – who is the first non-British host in the show’s history – has already lined up celebrities for the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car skit.
He told Evans: “Roman Grosjean was one of the first calls I got this morning he wants to be on the show.
“Steve Mangan is a crazy competitive lunatic and the fact I still hold the fast lap on Top Gear drives him crazy so I said ‘here’s your chance come on the show’.”
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LeBlanc famously set an as-of-yet unbeaten lap time of 1m 42.1s when he took part in the segment in 2012.
Evans also joked that he will get his new co-host a key cut for his house and made sure to check that the actor owns an in-date passort for their trip to South Africa.
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LeBlanc announced his new role on Thursday. In a statement he said: “As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I'm honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter,” he said. “What a thrill!”
Evans said he was "thrilled" to welcome the actor into the fray while Alan Tyler, the BBC’s acting controller for entertainment commissioning, described him as “a class act and a brilliant signing”.
In a statement, the BBC said LeBlanc would join production immediately and that additional Top Gear cast members would be “confirmed shortly”.
Top Gear is set to return to screens in May.