Reports are coming in that the world’s most popular motoring show might be in serious peril. The BBC sent out a press release stating today that Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation after having a “fracas” with a BBC producer.
That same presser stated that only this coming Sunday’s episode would not air as scheduled, but Radio News is reporting that the entire series has been put on indefinite hold as a result of the suspension, and that the aforementioned fracas involved Clarkson punching said producer during an incident last week.
The episode that was scheduled to air on the 15th features Clarkson and fellow presenters Richard Hammond and James May behind the wheel of European classics including a Fiat 124 Spider, an MGB GT and a Peugeot 304 Cabriolet, with ex-footballer and presenter Gary Lineker the “star in a reasonably priced car”.
This is not the first time Clarkson has been in hot water with the BBC. In fact, after the most recent incident, which involved an alleged (and unfounded, in our opinion) use of a racial slur while reciting the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny Moe during the filming a BBC2 program, Clarkson said he was given his “final warning”. It follows a vast string of controversies that Clarkson has sparked over the years, which has earned him a reputation for speaking his mind before considering the possible consequences.
In any case, it sounds like anyone who was looking forward to that test between the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari is going to have to wait a little longer – perhaps a lot longer. Someone in Maranello probably just let out a sigh of relief.