It was bound to happen sooner or later, but i don't think that anyone would ever have thought that this would have been the reason for why Jeremy was to be given the boot by the BBC, and in such a huge media focussed way too.
It is without doubt the Clarkson, May and Hammond have moulded Top Gear into a worldwide phenomenon, that is watched by, a rough estimation of 350 million people all over the globe, and it is also without question that no matter what country tries to emulate that show, into it's own, has not been anywhere near as successful.
The British Top Gear, is a world beater, so what will the BBC do now ! the trio were all due to renew their contracts at the end of this month, meaning more Top Gear for us all for at least another year, but with the high profile loss of Jeremy, will Hammond and May want to continue without him ?
Or, will, as suspected all three up sticks and go somewhere where they will be more appreciated by their new employers, after all, if they can bring in half the profits that they did for the BBC, any company would be clamouring to get hold of them, and will pay handsomely.
The BBC has mishandled TG over the years, by cutting its budgets, cutting the shows, to as low as SIX in a year, knowing full well that they can milk more out of it, I am sure that, given decent budgets and more shows, the new show, if it ever happens, would be a massive hit, even on pay channels, so Murdoch, get your cheque book out and start waving !!!!
But lets go back to what happened that fateful day, well, for what we know, the team had been filming a very long day, and this was not the first, by all accounts, the arrived at the hotel, followed by JC later, only to find that the catering was not to his liking, fair enough, but the ranting that followed was heard by people all over the hotel, and the "Fracas" as theyhave called it, developed into something physical, not the all out fist fight that others would have you believe, but a slap in the face.
It was after all this that JC contacted the BBC and advised them of what had gone on, no one else, the other party, took themselves to hospital, for a slightly swollen lip, with a minor cut, now most normal people might well have just hit him back, or walked away to stop the fire in its tracks, but this never happened.
Was it really necessary to go to hospital, after ten years of working with JC, surely he would have been fully aware of what may or may not have set him off, apart from the fact that JC was going through a very personal issue at the time, and the stress and worry that, that incurred, so surely if you're aware that someone is quite possibly in a slightly "off" mental state, would you not be more aware and ensure that you did everything in your power to avoid friction ?
Now, please do not think i am actively saying that JC should have gotten away with it, i am not, far from it, but i do fear that the BBC has, decided to take action here, where in other cases of public outcry, they have not, Saville, Hall and Harris come to mind, it is reported that the BBC were aware of these accusations against at least one of these, and did NOTHING, i feel that, that is a far far worse incident than the "fracas".
The Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand Sachsgate incident also was brushed under the carpet, with Ross back at the Beeb, again, this was a far worse incident than the incident in Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago, so, please BBC, you need to be very careful, because your decisions are not even handed, you seem to be able to let some things go by with out doing anything.
What about the stars that have been to court for GBH or Drink Driving, there has been plenty of them recently, and yet they still work for the BBC, I would have though that a Drunk Driver would be a worse incident as they could well have killed someone, but hey, we must not do anything to hurt the BBC's Crown Jewel, but back to JC.
Did he deserve to be sacked, maybe, but should it have been judge, jury and executioner by media, definitely not, there has been too much written and said that could have had an effect on the outcome, and thats not right, fair or acceptable, if it happened.
Below is a transcript of the findings of the BBC.
Investigation findings – Ken MacQuarrie
On 9 March 2015,
Jeremy Clarkson reported to BBC management that he had been involved in a
physical and verbal incident with Oisin Tymon, the producer of Top Gear, at the Simonstone Hall
Hotel, North Yorkshire, whilst working on location.
The incident had occurred on 4 March 2015
and Jeremy Clarkson was suspended on 10 March, pending investigation.
I was asked to undertake an investigation to establish the facts of what occurred. In conducting my
investigation, in line with the BBC’s usual practice, I interviewed a number of witnesses and others
connected with the incident.
Accounts were agreed, based on my interviews, with each participant.
Having conducted these interviews and considered the evidence presented, I conclude the
following: on 4 March 2015 Oisin Tymon was subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack
by Jeremy Clarkson.
During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and
bleeding to his lip. The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period, both at the time of the
physical attack and subsequently.
Specific facts I have found as part of my investigation are as follows:
- earlier on 4 March, studio recording of Top Gear had taken place in Surrey and the presenters had travelled that same evening to the location shoot in North Yorkshire;
- the incident occurred on a patio area of the Simonstone Hall Hotel, where Oisin Tymon was working on location for Top Gear;
- the physical attack lasted around 30 seconds and was halted by the intervention of a witness;
- it is the case that Oisin Tymon offered no retaliation;
- the verbal abuse was directed at Oisin Tymon on more than one occasion – both during the attack and subsequently inside the hotel – and contained the strongest expletives and threats to sack him. The abuse was at such volume as to be heard in the dining room, and the shouting was audible in a hotel bedroom;
- derogatory and abusive language, relating to Oisin Tymon and other members of the Top Gear team, continued to be used by Jeremy Clarkson inside the hotel, in the presence of others, for a sustained period of time;
- it is clear that Oisin Tymon was shocked and distressed by the incident, and believed that he had lost his job;
- following the attack, I understand that Oisin Tymon drove to a nearby A&E department for examination;
- over the subsequent days, Jeremy Clarkson made a number of attempts to apologise to Oisin Tymon by way of text, email and in person; and
- it is the case that Jeremy Clarkson reported the incident to BBC management.
It was not disputed by Jeremy Clarkson or any witness that Oisin Tymon was the victim of an
unprovoked physical and verbal attack. It is also clear to me that Oisin Tymon is an important
creative member of the Top Gear team who is well-valued and respected. He has suffered significant
personal distress as a result of this incident, through no fault of his own.
And below is the Outcome of these findings.
It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have done so only after a very careful consideration of the facts and after personally meeting both Jeremy and Oisin Tymon.
I am grateful to Ken MacQuarrie for the thorough way he has conducted an investigation of the incident on 4th March. Given the obvious and very genuine public interest in this I am publishing the findings of his report. I take no pleasure in doing so. I am only making them public so people can better understand the background. I know how popular the programme is and I also know that this decision will divide opinion. The main facts are not disputed by those involved.
I want to make three points.
First – The BBC is a broad church. Our strength in many ways lies in that diversity. We need distinctive and different voices but they cannot come at any price. Common to all at the BBC have to be standards of decency and respect. I cannot condone what has happened on this occasion. A member of staff – who is a completely innocent party – took himself to Accident and Emergency after a physical altercation accompanied by sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature. For me a line has been crossed. There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations.
Second – This has obviously been difficult for everyone involved but in particular for Oisin. I want to make clear that no blame attaches to him for this incident. He has behaved with huge integrity throughout. As a senior producer at the BBC he will continue to have an important role within the organisation in the future.
Third – Obviously none of us wanted to find ourselves in this position. This decision should in no way detract from the extraordinary contribution that Jeremy Clarkson has made to the BBC. I have always personally been a great fan of his work and Top Gear. Jeremy is a huge talent. He may be leaving the BBC but I am sure he will continue to entertain, challenge and amuse audiences for many years to come.
The BBC must now look to renew Top Gear for 2016. This will be a big challenge and there is no point in pretending otherwise. I have asked Kim Shillinglaw to look at how best we might take this forward over the coming months. I have also asked her to look at how we put out the last programmes in the current series.
So, in conclusion, he got what he asked for, he should not have done what did, however, it tried on a number of occasions to apologies, and allegedly these were all knocked back by the injured party, possibly if he were more of a man and accepted the apology and talked it out with JC, none of this would have happened.
Now we have a TV show that will never be the same again, that means that millions of viewers in this country will lose out, and 350 million around the globe will too, no amount of tweaking and changing will take away the fact that JC made Tg what it is, and without him, and possibly the other two, it will be a ship that sinks, and sinks quickly.
Personally, I hope they all three, go to SKY, or Dave or whoever and get a decent budget and series length and give us back the fun, silliness and laughs that we all need these days, instead of what i fear the BBC will now give us, a drab Politically correct TV show that bores the arse of us.
Jon Mower
All Views are my own and not to be confused with the views of any other person, company or institution, comments are welcome on this post, but any foul language will be removed, and the poster blocked
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