Well, the big oaf Jeremy Clarkson has been sacked by the BBC, his Top Gear days are done with. Honestly, he had to go. You can't just punch a colleague in the mouth because you don't get things your own way, had he not been fired the BBC would have been paying out a ton of cash to his victim. No doubt Channel 5 will take him on, there will be a push for his replacement and in the end I doubt he will be missed much. Sad day for Jeremy!
He had to go. Yes. As much as he was integral to the program, there are lines to be drawn on behaviour like that.
Should have sacked the producer for messing up with the food planning. After a hard days work Jeremy rightfully deserved a steak, not a limp salad.
Exactly, Dave. The producer - he's really only a gofer - should have made sure that there was a hot meal awaiting Clarkson and crew at the end of a very long day's filming. It is the so-called producer who should be sacked, not Clarkson who's worth millions to the BBC.
I agree with that 100% but the fight was the straw that broke the camel's back. He has been too big for his boots for years now. I won't miss him at all, I pay my TV licence and I was sick of his racist comments, they overshadowed the funny things he said. Good riddance.
If I went into work and punched a work colleague, I'd be sacked and that's the law. Clarkson is not above employment laws!
Plenty will miss him, Mike, including BBC bosses as Top Gear generates around £65 million a year for the corporation. I see that May and Hammond have indicated they'll not be renewing their contracts next month so as far as the BBC is concerned, Top Gear is dead. Now ITV or Sky will sign the team - including Andy Wilman, the show's executive producer - and they'll stand to make big money from it.
Maybe you're right, Mark. I certainly won't seek out where they all go. Top Gear just seemed so childish to me, always smashing things up and promoting high speed when cars wipe out hundreds of thousands of people on the roads already
Speeding cars kill more people than slower ones, Dom, and Top Gear promotes that kind of juvenile behaviour. If they film supercars and tell people they are for racetracks, then fine.
Have you never felt the wind in your hair, the excitement of a fast chase, the thrill of going over a hump back bridge at 90mph. Or is knitting woolen socks more your kettle of fish?
Or the agony of the inevitable as your pride and joy slams into the tree on the outside of the bend. And your bloodied head is slumped over the steering wheel.
I sometimes drove too fast as a young man, as all young people do. I had a motorbike too for a while. As I got older I drove slower as the seriousness of speeding was highlighted year after year by the police as well as being more mature. I never speed these days. If I was let loose in a supercar on a proper racetrack I would like to think I would enjoy what speed was like but even then I would probably think of my kids and slow down too much. So maybe knitting woollen socks is more my cup of tea except that I cannot knit The presenters on Top Gear seemed so out of step with real life and safety concerns and their juvenile behaviour, IMO, was an anachronism. As you know I drive for a living and seeing all the smashes on the road every day reinforces my thoughts on the stupidity of driving too fast. I can't even say to people who like to speed "hey it's your life, have fun" because it can be innocent people who are killed or seriously hurt in head on collisions caused by selfish, idiotic people.
Clarkson has 2 homes. One near Dave Cameron and the other, a converted lighthouse and outbuildings, here in the Isle of Man. ( Not sure if he will lose one of those soon, to his wife - divorce ) . Anyhow, the stats here show some alarming data. Since 1911, 245 riders have died competing on the Manx TT circuit. This is just competitors. To be added to that are the immediate spectators. And the tourists who get killed seeking to emulate the competitors, on the circuit and other public roads. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Snaefell_Mountain_Course_fatal_accidents Quite a good article on the topic, here: http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/31/isle-of-man-tt-the-worlds-most-dangerous-sporting-event-3816587/ 2011 was a busy year. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-13747353
I watched the races a couple of times. Once when Agostini and Mike Halewood were racing in the 1960's and once in the 1980's when Joey Dunlop was prominent. My father was a motorcycle fan, I have never been a big fan though. Always good fun if the weather is good.
I'd like to see Chris Evans present the show, over the years he's gone from being a dick to being a well balanced TV/radio presenter whilst still keeping a bit of an edge. I think he is the only one who could step into Clarkson's shoes without having to change the show around too much, he would also gel well with the other two presenters too. Unfortunately Evans has already said he is not interested, but he would say that wouldn't he , its got to beat getting up at 4am every morning to present his radio 2 breakfast show.
