Clarkson suspended by Beeb - Top Gear off air this weekend

Stig said:

Sincerely hope this is is the end of that old shit so that I don't have to have it inflicted on me any more. Worried that it will turn out to be some publicity stunt to get the ratings up.

Did it wind you up that much that he always said the stars in the reasonably priced car drove a better lap than you?

BDL said:

And guess who finally had tickets to go to the filming tomorrow..............

Perhaps you might be able to get Loose Women instead...

colthe3rd said:

Stig said:

Sincerely hope this is is the end of that old shit so that I don't have to have it inflicted on me any more. Worried that it will turn out to be some publicity stunt to get the ratings up.

You don't have to watch it

True, but it's hideous drone is constantly invading my living space and I don't have a lot of choice about that.

Valley11 said:

newyorkaddick said:

Whatever you think of Clarkson, he is the 'talent' on the show whilst producers are ten a penny (and doubtless he well knows it).

Disagree. The show's popularity is partly based on the presenters and partly on the stunts and races across foreign lands. And the way it's shot. All that's down to the 'ten a penny' producers.

All the ideas, stunts, races come from Hammond. He was a motorcycle journo before cars and the bike mags were doing this stuff 20 years ago. Top Gear just copied the bike stuff on a bigger scale using the licence fee and the TG marque to pay for it.

Clarkson is a dick. He's good at what he does: Being a dick.

Clarkson probably announced he liked Grammar schools or liked democracy. The BBC were disgusted and gave him the boot

Employer in suspending employee for punching colleague shock!

Bournemouth Addick said:

Employer in suspending employee for punching colleague shock!

It's PC gone mad

Is it definite he punched someone? Fracas could literally mean anything.

Clarkson once lamped Piers Morgan so to be honest I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on purely that basis.

.

Riviera said:

How is it you're allowed to knock Clarkson but not Danny Baker on here? I don't like either by the way. However apparently there is an on-line petition going with over 100k signed demanding his reinstatement. Anyone got a link? I'll sign it, although I think he's a bit of a dick we do need his type in this ever sterilising Nanny State we call the UK.

Here's the link https://www.change.org/p/bbc-reinstate-jeremy-clarkson

Fiiish said:

BBC wash their hands of someone that doesn't fit in with their PC, pro-Labour, pro-EU, anti-UKIP stance that filters through all their programming and someone who occasionally makes headlines for being un-PC, which is the BBC consider tantamount to heresy.

ITV or Sky pick up an incredibly popular TV personality who is the driving force (no pun intended) of the most watched factual program on the planet and one that probably bankrolls hundreds of other, non-profitable shows that Clarkson's detractors enjoy and make even more money.

Useful idiots May and Hammond know the writing's on the wall for Top Gear and join Jezza on Sky.

BBC replace Top Gear's presenters replaced by a lesbian, a Muslim and a man in a wheelchair who have only been selected for exactly those qualities and not based on any talent or substance. The show's audience instantly plummet to roughly zero.

Jezza, Hammond and May are now making 10 times the money they were before and people realise that the only reason why they hadn't jumped ship earlier is because they felt some loyalty to the network that had backed them during thick and thin, only to stab them in the back when one of them crossed a producer.

Which is frankly what this is all about. The BBC has backed Jezza and his motley crew during racism scandals, diplomatic crises and continuous gaffes leading to poor press. Yet the second Jezza crosses a BBC producer then some line has been crossed. It's either typically narcissistic of the BBC if this is what they intended or incredibly naive if they didn't.

Other media outlets (often led by the distinctly not left wing Daily Mail acting under an anti BBC agenda) are the ones who have made all the fuss about Clarkson's previous gaffs but the BBC have backed him and continued to employ him - not just on Top Gear but also on shows like HIGNFY and QI.

Clarkson has been made to apologise for things but when you make it you shtick to say things that upset some people (and don't try and tell me he doesn't know exactly what he's doing most of the time) then that kind of thing goes with the territory, like it or not. But If the Beeb just wanted him out they have had ample excuses but the fact he's been in a job until now tells me it's the exact opposite of what you suggest and they have very much wanted to keep him.

Personally, even as a Guardian reading leftie, I quite like Clarkson and Top Gear. I think he can be very funny and suspect the real him isn't quite what we see on our screens. Some of his and the shows material that relies on racial stereotypes is a bit tired and old hat but I think it's mostly fairly harmless and I don't believe any of the presenters are actually racist/homophobic/sexist and I don't want to live in a world where peoe aren't allowed to offend each other.

I also appreciate the show is a massive cash cow and probably funds some of the other excellent output from the BBC.

However, if he has assaulted someone at work, beit the tea lady or the VP, he has crossed a line that no employer can turn a blind eye to, least if all a corporation the size of the BBC.

Of course it will suit other people's agendas to paint this as some sort of overly PC witch hunt.

If you are interested in signing a petition check here : http://www.forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/66923/clarkson-petition#latest

Since when did lumping your boss over the change in liver sausage supply in the canteen become wrong