He took over from Johnny Walker. Jeremy *Vine* took over from Jimmy Young.
Evans taking over from Wogan wasn't my cup of tea, so I bought a cardigan and listen to radio 4 instead, but he increased listenership from record highs, something that everyone assumed would be impossible.
FYI there was am earlier Top Gear 1977-2001, more of an enthusiasts' magazine (vf 6m dropping to 3m), cannot say I ever watched it.
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Be careful comparing viewship figures from 1999 (3 million) with 2016.
Corronation street figures from 1999 had a high of 19,840,000, and a low of 11,160,000.
For 2015 the high was 8,240,000 and low 5,170,000
That's about 45% what it was - which means that old top gear would be about 1.4 million, well below the figures of the Evans series.