thought this was interesting. BBC would be pretty stupid to upset the applecart with how big the show is and how integral Clarkson is to it.
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended by the BBC following a “fracas” with a producer, according to a report from the BBC.
“Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation,” said the BBC in statement.
“No one else has been suspended.
“Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday.
“The BBC will be making no further comment at this time.”
The BBC report goes on to quote BBC News special correspondent Lucy Manning who said sources had confirmed reports Clarkson was suspended for “allegedly hitting a producer” during an incident believed to have happened last week.
While the BBC has already confirmed that the next episode of Top Gear will not be broadcast, according to Manning it sounds unlikely the remainder of series 22 will go to air as planned.
“The next two episodes of Top Gear will not be broadcast and it’s understood that a third programme, the final of the series, is unlikely to be transmitted,” said Manning.
It’s understood Clarkson, who has courted controversy in the past, was on his “final warning” with the BBC after allegations of racism last year.
Clarkson has not commented on the matter although has taken to Twitter to joke with co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May about classic movies the BBC could air in place of the next episode of Top Gear. He has also retweeted a post from a viewer urging the BBC not to punish fans by yanking the remaining episodes of Top Gear from the schedule.
Top Gear, recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most-watched factual TV show, began in 1977 as a traditional motoring show but was relaunched in its current form with Clarkson as host in 2002. The show’s cast was cemented the following year following the introduction of co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May.