[protected-iframe id=”d6dcf112739fa8a82c05972eae47fdfc-60970621-28893383″ info=”https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/video/media/video/2015/mar/20/jeremy-clarkson-bbc-top-gear-video” width=”650″ height=”400″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
Top Gear — the British show about motor cars — has been running since 2002, and is not only one of the most popular programs in the UK, it’s one of the most popular shows in the world. The fate of the series after 22 seasons, however, is in question after its host, Jeremy Clarkson, got in some hot water. Did he lie about his past? Did he go on a coke-fueled bender, or beat his wife? Those things probably wouldn’t get an entertainer fired in the United States, but apparently, it takes much, much less to get sacked in the UK.
There’s some debate surrounding the “fracas” that is threatening Top Gear, but apparently, a couple of weeks ago, host Jeremy Clarkson got into a row with a producer after he was given cold plate of food for dinner. Punches may have been thrown. It seems that the fight had less to do with the cold food, however, than the fact that Clarkson was irritated after a hard day of filming, and it was the cold dinner that set him off.
In either respect, the fight with the producer led to Clarkson being suspended for three episodes. If he’d been quiet and simply served out his suspension, all probably would’ve been fine. However, Clarkson — despite apologizing to a BBC boss — has reportedly been difficult, and has continued to fight.
In the above video — where he’s auctioning off a lap around the Top Gear track for £100,000 at the charity event — he all but says that he’s set to be fired, calling his BBC bosses “f*cking bastards,” saying that they have “f*cked themselves,” and that “it was a great show, and they f*cked it up.”
He added:
“I didn’t foresee my sacking but I would like to do one last lap. So I’ll go down to Surrey and I’ll do one last lap of that track before the f**king bastards sack me. … I’ll be a bit tearful when I do it, but f**k it, let’s do it.”
What that means for the show is still uncertain. Fans have signed a petition attempting to get Clarkson reinstated, and there is also some suggestion that another host will be announced soon.
Via the Guardian
