viewers were less than thrilled on Sunday, as the new series Paddy and Chris: Road Tripping debuted.
The opening episode saw ex- presenters and Chris Harris venture to Sweden in pursuit of the secret to ageing gracefully.
As the pair prepared for their journey, Paddy unveiled their Swedish classic ride, a vintage Cross Country Volvo, much to Harris’s elation.
He enthusiastically shared facts about their set of wheels while Paddy told people watching: “We might be here for some time, do yourself a brew. I had to let him do a little bit of something with cars!”
Amidst their Swedish escapade, Chris continued to delve into particulars about their 23-year-old Volvo including the pedal boxes, Paddy cut in: “As I said earlier, that’s the other show, right? You’ve got to stop doing that on this trip. It’s not going to wash. A different set of viewers, just putting it out there.”
Paddy and Chris Road Tripping left BBC viewers divided (Image: BBC)
A visibly disheartened Chris retorted: “Yeah, but I like all that stuff.”
Twitter soon buzzed with audience feedback, many expressing their dissatisfaction towards the constant winks at the duo’s Top Gear legacy, reports .
One person commented: “I’ve just watched half of the first episode of #PaddyAndChrisRoadTripping – if ever the editorial drive of a programme was more “we’ve paid for the so we’ve got to do something” I’d like to not see it.”
Another vented: “What is the point of this? Two blokes driving through Sweden. Why? Did the #bbc think this was a good replacement for #TopGear ? Its not. So far it’s c**p. #roadtripping”
A third asked: “My word, is this the best the @ can do and then put it out on a Sunday night?”
Paddy and Chris were exploring Sweden in the first episode (Image: BBC)
Yet another queried: “So this is Grand Tour on the cheap?”
However, there were some viewers who enjoyed the new programme.
One person enthused: “Really enjoying #RoadTripping Like Paddy and Chris on Top Gear but this is better.”
Another added: “Absolutely loving Paddy and Chris road-tripping.”
The two men were exploring the country to find ways to improve their mental health (Image: BBC)
During the show, viewers saw the duo enter a sauna to boost body confidence, plunge into cold waters and explore ways to improve their mental health.
In the next episode, Paddy and Chris will journey to the Greek island of Ikaria. The synopsis hints they’ll be investigating why one in three locals live well into their nineties.
It states: “They head to sea with a 75-year-old fisherman who has no plans to ever retire, keep their brains healthy with a few rounds of backgammon, milk goats and put up fences for a farming family, and test their mettle with rock climbing and surfing.”
Paddy and Chris: Road Tripping is available to watch on iPlayer.