Top Gear: I feared for my life during filming for new series, says Chris Evans

Chris Evans has told of the fear he feels performing death-defying stunts for Top Gear.

Ahead of tonight’s premiere of the new-look show, the new presenter spoke candidly about the terror he sometimes experienced during filming for the latest series.

He said he was fully aware of the dangers involved with making the show, and described some of the high-speed segments that left him thinking of his mortality.

Speaking to the Sunday People, he explained: "I really love my kids and I really love my wife.

"But if I am gonna go in the next few years, maybe this is the way I would prefer to go."

The 50-year-old said that while filming the first six shows of the new series - which airs on Sunday night - there had been two particular moments that left him terrified.

Recalling surviving a high-powered Jaguar crash while filming in Cuba, Evans said: "I took it to the limit and I ran out of talent and road."

He also described filming a South African safari "rally" featured in the first show.

The father-of-four told the newspaper: "I was scared. Really scared. We ended up on a massive, massive nine-mile pass that goes up to over 3,000 metres.

"That was scary because there was nothing but a massive drop on the side of the track. It was a loose gravel road and we were going as fast as we could possibly go and it was getting dark because it was late filming.

"That was a real nightmare, to be honest."