My thoughts on the Clarkson saga

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past few weeks you can't have failed to realise that Jeremy Clarkson has effectively been sacked from BBC Top Gear and the media is awash with stories of a 'fracas' in which he is alleged to have punched a producer in a row over catering. As a consequence, the remaining episodes of the current series were immediately pulled from the schedule and Clarkson has been suspended until his contract expires and will not have it renewed. However, I believe there is more to this story than meets the eye so here I present my thoughts on the matter.

The timing of the incident seems too convenient to be a coincidence, occurring just weeks before the presenters' contracts are due to end. Top Gear has been running in its current form since 2002 and on several occasions over the past few years, Clarkson has expressed a desire to leave the show, sometimes coming very close to doing so until he was offered a large incentive to stay, so he is clearly not entirely satisfied with his position. His company having recently sold its share of the rights to Top Gear to the BBC, he no longer has a financial interest in the franchise, and at the age of 54 perhaps feels it is time to move on from a show that has a huge following among younger viewers and can sometimes be very juvenile, and do something more 'mature'.

The immense success of the Top Gear franchise is clear for all to see, but has put the presenters in a very difficult position as they are the faces of this massive global brand and will forever be associated with it, regardless of what else they do. The show has a very vocal and outspoken fan base, who would undoubtedly find it difficult to accept Clarkson's departure if he simply left of his own volition and would constantly clamour for his return. By fabricating an incident, he and the BBC can make out it wasn't his decision and he can leave under controversial and well-publicised circumstances. This way, it is clear to the fans exactly why he bowed out of the show and the BBC have a reason not to re-employ him by arguing that he crossed a line and is no longer welcome. In fact, it seems entirely possible that Clarkson's previous racist gaffes over the past couple of years may have all been part of a long-term plan to gradually build up a controversy until his position was untenable and gave him an escape route.    

The alleged victim of the incident has been strangely quiet on the matter, communicating only through his solicitor while numerous statements have been made by Clarkson and the BBC. This lack of any direct information from the 'victim' surely lends some weight to the theory that the 'fracas' either never actually happened or was staged and blown out of proportion, and he was complicit in the scheme in order to fit the BBC and Clarkson's agenda. Such theories notwithstanding, in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal the BBC is under close scrutiny and needs to be entirely transparent, so there is no way such an incident could have been covered up, and under the circumstances Clarkson's suspension was the right decision. In any other employment, physical violence would not be tolerated under any circumstances and would lead to instant dismissal, so why should Clarkson be any different because of his fame and influence? Another important consideration is that if the victim has engaged a high-flying lawyer, the BBC must be seen to be doing things by the book, otherwise they could be torn apart in court and their reputation, already badly damaged by the likes of Savile, would suffer yet further harm from which they may never recover.

Clarkson has always been a controversial figure and his television persona often comes across as boorish and crude: he is unafraid of pushing the boundaries and upsetting people, and this is one of the factors that give him such appeal in a politically-correct world of bland personalities who are scared of stepping even slightly out of line. However, anecdotal evidence from people who have met him off-screen suggests he is not at all like that in reality and in his Top Gear role he is effectively an actor playing a character who happens to share his name, a parody of himself perhaps. While his on-screen antics can be puerile and childish, it should be remembered that he does have a background as a serious journalist and I have always enjoyed his written work more than Top Gear. As an author he has a witty and articulate style developed over many years that shows the genuine enthusiasm often omitted from his television appearances for the sake of cheap laughs, and the sales figures for his books speak for themselves really. Maybe his departure from Top Gear and all the expectations that go with it will give him an opportunity to return to his roots and do more writing and serious presenting.

Whatever happens next, it seems unlikely Clarkson will be short of work and in the long run this incident probably will not harm his reputation. Someone with his level of popularity and influence would be a very desirable catch for any television channel and if, as seems likely, Hammond and May depart with him, an opportunity can be created for a fresh show elsewhere that retains the best bits of the now slightly tired Top Gear format but breaks away from the burdens that go with the BBC version. There have been calls in some quarters for a return to the Top Gear of old with the likes of Chris Goffey and William Woollard, but in all honesty I can't see such a format being a success in the modern world: it was worthy but dull and Top Gear has long since moved away from being a car show to becoming pure entertainment. Mainstream audiences these days really aren't all that interested in honest reviews of boring everyday transport; they want exotic cars and locations, escapades to make them laugh and a bit of controversy to provoke arguments.

To summarise my views, it seems probable that this whole incident of the 'fracas' may have been engineered by Clarkson and the BBC to provide him with an escape from a franchise that made his name and earned him a lot of money but threatened to engulf him and take over his whole life. It may have been past its best, but for all its faults I think Top Gear will be missed as it had some memorable moments and built up a massive fan base. Certainly it was one of the few shows I made a point of watching regularly and provided a bit of light-hearted escapism with car-related fun and silliness, and things won't be quite the same without it.