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Cenotaph controversy

LeBlanc and Block perform a donut near the Cenotaph memorial in Whitehall, London.

While filming for the twenty-third series of Top Gear, new presenter Matt LeBlanc courted controversy after he and stunt-driver Ken Block were seen performing donuts near London's Cenotaph. The Cenotaph is a war memorial in Whitehall that commemorates those who died fighting for the British Commonwealth in the First and Second World Wars.

Incident[]

On the 12th of March, 2016, presenter Matt LeBlanc and Ken Block, of Gymkhana fame, filmed an item in London where they drove around famous monuments in a tour of the city. During filming, the pair performed a series of donuts near the Cenotaph memorial in Whitehall, which prompted a massive backlash by British tabloids in the days afterwards. Despite having permission to film in the area, a police escort, and prior knowledge of the shoot by producers of the show, the stunt was performed nonetheless. The stunt was accused of being disrespectful to the famous war memorial.

Fallout[]

A day after headlines broke, presenter Chris Evans apologised for the incident on his radio show and assured viewers that footage of the incident would not be shown when it went to air. The item that LeBlanc had been filming went to air in the third episode of the show's twenty-third series, with footage of the Cenotaph incident being edited out.

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