Chris Evans is to take a less prominent role at the helm of Top Gear, after viewing figures for the newly revamped motoring show slumped to a new low.

The third episode of Top Gear, the first to feature motoring journalists Rory Reid and Chris Harris, received positive reviews, but was watched by a live audience of just 2.37 million viewers, down nearly half a million on the previous week.

The programme, which recorded the second-lowest audience figures since Jeremy Clarkson revived the motoring show, in 2002, received plaudits from viewers for the performances of Reid and Harris, who usually host the online spin-off show, Extra Gear.