Top Gear: Viewing figures for episode 2 drop significantly from show's relaunch

The episode was down a third on last week's launch

The revamped Top Gear is now in full swing having aired its second episode last night - not that you'd think it looking at the viewing figures. It has been confirmed that episode two was down a third on last Sunday's launch.

An audience share of 2.8 million tuned in to see the latest from new presenters Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc. This is a significant drop from last week's already-disappointing total of 4.8 million.

UPDATE: Chris Evans has since responded to the low viewing figures on Twitter.

The overnight audience is lower than the audience figures received by Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond's original series which predates James May's induction. Consolidated figures are expected to be released today following the news that last week's launch episode hit 8 million through the BBC iPlayer service.

Episode two featured guest appearances from Jenson Button, Damian Lewis, and Tinie Tempah. While the majority of critics believed episode two to be a slight improvement on the debut, it seems audiences may not be willing to stick around to find out. When assessing, however, it's fair to highlight ITV's airing of Socceraid from 6-10pm as well as the hot weather as potential mitigating factors.

Even Le Blanc didn't tune in; instead, the former Friends star attended Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's show-stopping performance at London's Wembley Stadium.

BBC was this week hit with claims that canned laughter had been applied to the episodes while angry fans are calling for 'shouty' Evans to be replaced by Formula One racer Button.