After being branded as 'boring', BBC has come to the rescue of Top Gear's lowest opening in decades.
Defending these low ratings and presenter Chris Evans, Alan Tyler, Acting Controller Entertainment Commissioning said: "Chris and Matt (co-host) have successfully kicked off a whole new era in style and we are really looking forward to bringing our audiences even more thrills as the series continues", reports the Mirror.
The most widely watched television programme came under fire, when its Sunday night opening recorded a viewership of 4.4 million- the lowest since July 2006.
The 50-year-old presenter, who also jumped to the rescue in a series of tweets, reiterated several "FACTS" like "12 percent MORE (audience) than the opening episode of the last series" and "Top Gear audience grew throughout the hour" about the show.
The low viewership comes after host Evans said he will be "disappointed" if the show opened with a less than five million viewership.