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Sunday, November 15, 2026Nov 15

BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ sorry for filming near war memorial

Actor and Top Gear presenter  Matt LeBlanc, left, waves , as he sits with  rally driver Ken Block during filming of BBC Top Gear in Westminster, London on Sunday Sunday March 13, 2016 . British DJ and TV presenter of of BBC car show "Top Gear"  Chris Evans apologized "unreservedly" on Monday March 14, 2016  for filming stunt driving near Britain's best-known war memorial on Sunday. Some bystanders complained after co-host Matt LeBlanc and a professional driver were seen performing "doughnuts" in the street nearby. Col. Richard Kemp, a retired army officer, called the stunt "gravely disrespectful." ( Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
Actor and Top Gear presenter Matt LeBlanc, left, waves , as he sits with rally driver Ken Block during filming of BBC Top Gear in Westminster, London on Sunday Sunday March 13, 2016 . British DJ and TV presenter of of BBC car show "Top Gear" Chris Evans apologized "unreservedly" on Monday March 14, 2016 for filming stunt driving near Britain's best-known war memorial on Sunday. Some bystanders complained after co-host Matt LeBlanc and a professional driver were seen performing "doughnuts" in the street nearby. Col. Richard Kemp, a retired army officer, called the stunt "gravely disrespectful." ( Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

LONDON (AP) – A host of BBC car show “Top Gear” has apologized “unreservedly” for filming stunt driving near Britain’s best-known war memorial.

Chris Evans says program-makers were “unwise” to film close to the Cenotaph, a stone monument to Britain’s war dead near Parliament in central London.

Some bystanders complained after co-host Matt LeBlanc and a professional driver were seen performing “doughnuts” in the street nearby. Col. Richard Kemp, a retired army officer, called the stunt “gravely disrespectful.”

The BBC said photos made the car appear closer to the monument than it really was, but Evans said he understood why some people were angry.

He said Monday that “on behalf of the Top Gear team and Matt, I would like to apologize unreservedly for what these images seem to portray.”