Entertainment

Top Gear's Chris Evans apologizes for filming near war memorial

A host of BBC car show Top Gear has apologized "unreservedly" for filming stunt driving near Britain's best-known war memorial.

Bystanders complain after Matt LeBlanc, professional driver perform 'doughnuts' nearby

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. (Dominic Lipinski/Associated Press)

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.

Top Gear host Chris Evans, seen in January, apologized "unreservedly" for the show filming some stunt driving in the street near Britain's best-known war memorial on Sunday. (Eric Reed/BBC America/Associated Press)

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."