Jesse Eisenberg and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will be the first guest drivers to tackle Top Gear's race track when the popular BBC motoring series returns later this month (29May16).

TV bosses were forced to make the announcement about the stars who will appear alongside co-hosts Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc in the first episode of the new-look show after tabloid reports suggested Brad Pitt had pulled out.

A post on the programme's official Twitter account reads: "Viper vs 'Vette. UK vs USA. Jesse Eisenberg and @GordonRamsay."

A BBC spokesman also shot down reports Pitt had pulled out of an appearance on the show.

"There is no truth in this story," the BBC representative told the London Evening Standard newspaper. "We never approached Mr Pitt."

Evans and LeBlanc have replaced longtime Top Gear hosts James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson, who departed the show last year (15).