Top Gear: Gordon Ramsay and Jesse Eisenberg to star in first show as bosses slam reports Brad Pitt pulled out | London Evening Standard

Top Gear: Gordon Ramsay and Jesse Eisenberg to star in first show as bosses slam reports Brad Pitt pulled outThe Hollywood actor and Michelin-starred chef will be among the first stars to appear on the revamped showFirst name: Gordon Ramsay will join Chris Evans and Matt LeBlancBen Gabbe/Getty

Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg and Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay will star on the first episode of the revamped Top Gear.

The pair will have their motoring skills put to the test when they join hosts Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc for the series debut on May 29.

The official Top Gear Twitter account confirmed the news, tweeting: “Viper vs 'Vette. UK vs USA. Jesse Eisenberg and @GordonRamsay.”

The announcement comes after The Sun reported that Brad Pitt had been lined-up for the “star in a reasonably priced car” segment as show bosses reportedly wanted an A-lister to kick off the proceedings – but he is said to have pulled out.

“Brad has obviously had filming issues so they’ve had to quickly find another Hollywood name and came up with Jesse,” a source told the publication.

“He played Lex Luthor in the latest Batman vs Superman movie, but is not a heart-throb or a name anything like Brad. Chris Evans is not known in the US so they’ve had to bring in two guests instead of one each week to build the brand out there.

“Gordon is a huge US TV star so that will help – but it’s not the start Chris or the producers wanted really.”

Allow Exco Player content

This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to load the content.

But a spokesperson for the show dismissed the claims and told Standard Online: “There is no truth in this story, we never approached Mr Pitt.”

Guest star: Jesse Eisenberg will appear on the first episode (Andreas Rentz/Getty )Andreas Rentz/Getty

Evans - who took over from Jeremy Clarkson on the BBC 2 motoring show - recently revealed he is “preparing for potential imminent career death”.

Read More

Writing in his Mail Online column he addressed his critics, writing: "It's clear, even to a deaf, dumb and blind person, that in their considered opinion, I thoroughly deserve to be six feet under and the sooner the better.

“As a consequence of the mud-slinging, I have taken to daily, contemplative soaks in the bath-tub of 'worst-case scenario'. I am a realist hoping for the best, while preparing for potential imminent career death.”

Top Gear returns to BBC 2 at 8pm on May 29.

Follow @StandardShowbiz for more entertainment news.