Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc at war: Friends star 'damaged' Top Gear brand with Cenotaph stunt

Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc's kinship has reportedly broken down following Top Gear's Cenotaph incident, when the former Friends star performed stunts around the war memorial, which was considered disrespectful.

The radio host, who apologised on air following the backlash, blames LeBlanc for turning it into a PR disaster, a report suggests. A source told The Sun: "Matt was never Chris's choice - it was a decision forced upon him to attract the US market.

"He accepted it and was desperate to strike up a bond when they were filming, but the spark just wasn't there.

"Since the Cenotaph, their relationship has deteriorated. Chris thinks Matt severely damaged the brand. Behind the scenes it's very frosty between them," he added.

The alleged fall-out is the latest blow to come from the already-controversial series which was previously hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, who now have their own show on Amazon. It is due to air next month.

LeBlanc made headlines earlier this year when he sped around Whitehall resulting in tyre marks around the monument which is the focus of national mourning on Remembrance Sunday every November. The footage showed the actor, who famously played Joey in Friends, was seen performing 'donuts' in the car with the Cenotaph clearly visible in the background.

Evans subsequently regretted what happened and when asked if he thought the stunt showed a lack of respect, he said: "I think the images look so disrespectful. There are mitigating circumstances, but I unreservedly apologise. I saw the images for the first time this morning and I feel the same as everybody else."

The new trailer showing Evans throwing up on a side track and LeBlanc's vehicle breaking down received criticism from fans, with one viewer writing on social media, "The new Top Gear trailer is so bad lmao" while another said, "New #TopGear, same as old #TopGear but with much worse presenters, and a fat yank".

Another fan of the show, Chris Oliver, wrote on the programme's Facebook page: "You lot don't care about fans. If you did you'd cancel the show, because I know you know you're missing the pieces that made it work. Signing with Netflix that's desperate."

Netflix has confirmed that it will stream the show internationally, so it will be in direct competition with Clarkson's new show on Amazon. The wheels will be in motion from May 2016.

Netflix has confirmed that it will stream the show internationally, so it will be in direct competition with Clarkson's new show on Amazon. We can't wait for the wheels to be in motion.