Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood
Top Gear USA presenters Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood Facebook / Rutledge Wood

The BBC have confirmed that Top Gear USA, a spin-off of the UK show, has been cancelled. The US show has been running since 2010 and has aired 72 episodes across six seasons on the History Channel. One of the show's hosts, Rutledge Wood, who presents alongside Adam Ferrara and Tanner Foust, made the "very sad" announcement on Facebook.

He wrote: "It's been an amazing ride for sure, and although I don't think the show is done, it appears that it's done with our friends at History, and we're incredibly grateful for being a part of the A&E Networks family."

He added: "I have had so much fun with Tanner Foust and Adam Ferrara they really are like brothers to me. We've travelled this amazing country and to some of the coolest places on earth together, and even in the hardest moments, it's been a total dream come true."

Possibly sparking rumours that their format might move to another channel, he added: "The three of us will stick together and hope to bring you much more Top Gear USA, albeit it somewhere else it appears. (sic)"

"History treated Top Gear USA with great care, and the show had a solid five-season contractual run with the network," said a spokesperson for BBC Worldwide North America. "We are fully committed to the hugely successful Top Gear brand – known all over the world – and have begun exploring new opportunities for the series in the US."

Meanwhile, Top Gear UK's TV ratings have continued to plummet, despite acting controller of Entertainment Commissioning Alan Tyler, claiming that the executives are still satisfied with the show.

Tyler's comments come after IBTimes UK reported a few weeks ago (20 June) , that the bookmakers Betway predicted things will only get worse, quoting 5/4 for the BBC to cancel the next series. It's believed that Matt LeBlanc's chances of presenting season 24 are at 2-1 odds, and 4-7 on for the show to return with another series with Chris Evans as host.

The UK show has been running since 1977 in various formats and now stars Evans and LeBlanc.