The BBC has launched an investigation into Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson's alleged "fracas" with a producer, trying to establish the facts of the incident before deciding its next move. The inquiry is being headed up Ken McQuarrie, the director of BBC Scotland. No official date has been fixed for the investigation to present its findings.
The popular TV presenter was suspended on March 10 over allegations that he punched producer Oisin Tymon during a dispute over a meal, and the rest of the season’s episodes were cancelled.
The BBC said the investigation would establish the facts and that “people should wait for the outcome of that”.
A lawyer for Tymon said his client “intends to await the outcome of the BBC investigation and will make no comment until that investigation is complete”.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that the Top Gear slot lost 4 million viewers on Sunday, March 15, after it was filled by a repeat of Red Arrows: Inside the Bubble. Top Gear is one of the BBC's most popular and profitable TV shows, with an estimated global audience of 350 million.
Clarkson, a friend of UK prime minister David Cameron, was already on a final warning over accusations last year that he had used racist language while filming the show, the latest in a long line of incidents which had courted criticism. Last year, Argentina's ambassador to Britain demanded an apology from the BBC after the Top Gear crew allegedly referenced the country's 1982 war with Britain over the Falkland Islands. The crew was forced to leave the country.
Meanwhile, an online petition to reinstate Clarkson has reached more than 900,000 signatures.
The critic AA Gill voiced his support for Clarkson in his Sunday Times column, calling the investigation into the row "preposterous and ponderous", and praised Clarkson as hard-working.
