Jeremy Clarkson sacked from BBC/Top Gear

Ok I had assumed that this was an open handed slap and that the guy did not require any medical assistance. I think he went to hospital specifically for your second point.

I do not believe that the Nhs should be used to "log an injury'! Accident and emergency is for people who need to see a doctor urgently. Go to a gp, lawyer or the police and don't waste a doctors time who should be looking at someone who needs medical assistance.

 

Most likely so. But, hopefully, the tide has turned. People will eventually tire of watching the repeats. I'm sure there will be another Clarkson-hosted show, on another network, but will his appeal, whatever that may be, be maintained without the established format?

 

I don't know either, but I guess the point I was trying to make was that there are cases where one may need to go to the ER with a split lip, but I also get your point that it may not have been necessary- whether it was warranted in this case I have no idea.

 

People have said similar things about other lucrative international shows that the BBC owns the rights to but I'd like to see the real numbers and where the profits go to.

I've seen one report saying it grosses around £150M a year and another stating £50M. I'm not an expert but my limited experience with Tv production is that Sales figures don't always equate to huge profits. I've seen financials from TV production companies with these huge sales figures with 7-10% returns. Also, up until 2012 Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Williams (the show runner) owned a 50% stake in the production company so at least until 2012 they would've been participating in any profits in some way. So my question would be; what profits did that show contribute to the BBC. Gross sales are wonderful, but you need to see the bottom line as well.

Eddie

 

Excellent , what a d***head.I hope i never see this ***** again on any show.

 

All true, but regardless of whether the gross was £50million, £100million or £250million a year nobody has disputed that it's the biggest earner for the BBC, now some of that income such as format licensing and the magazine may hold up, but without Clarkson, May and Hammond overseas sales of the programme are going to decline and the income, whatever it is will also decline which isn't good for people like me who fund the BBC. I'm sure somebody on here will have paid for access for UK company reports and be able to give us a run down on the figure before the production company was sold.

I'm also upset that if James May goes then we won't get any more Toy Stories or Science Labs, although the latter seems to have already been axed, I can happily live without any of Hammond's programmes although Clarkson's programmes on military history are perfectly watchable.

 

(Thankfully) there is not a suing culture in Britain.

Sure, it happens, but it is not the norm.

I would be very surprised if the producer does sue, it would NOT be a wise move for his career there.

He will want to just keep his head low and get on with things.

 

No, if you want to take an injury to court then you need proper medical proof and reports. Plus if you have an injury that's bleeding it needs to be checked. I saw a picture of the chap last week and it was a nasty looking wound.

He was right in what he did. Also Doctors surgeries and lawyers don't tend to work much after 6pm and the police aren't known for their medical skills.

Assessments and notes need to be taken asap.

 

The BBC released the findings of their own investigation:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/investigation-summary.pdf

 

Good riddance. He's a repugnant bully.

 

You have an advantage over me having seen a picture (are you sure it was authentic)? I am picturing a split lip that you dab with a bit of tissue. I can't believe it was a serious injury or someone would have helped him, crew or hotel staff.

I don't want to believe our our first thought (in this sort of incident) should now be "how do I maximise my pay out in court?" so I'll waste taxpayers money (NHS) and an emergency doctors time on getting as much evidence as I can to sue whoever hurt me! If the matter was serious the police would have sent him to hospital, otherwise they are quite capable of taking a photo and charging the perpetrator.

 

It's still very vague, but I didn't realise it lasted for 30 seconds. If his injuries were serious then of course he should have gone to A&E, however, I have not read anything (other an earlier post of someone saying that they had seen a picture - I have done my own search and cannot find the picture) to suggest he had anything other than a bit of a thick/split lip.

 

I understand your attitude towards Clarkson. And yes, my mistake with BBC...

however, such end of Top Gear. Feels like someone great has died, but I still haven't processed it yet. *sigh such a shame.

 

Don't worry, Shaun Ryder will be Chris Evans first guest on the new Top Gear!

If you ask me it (Top Gear) was tired, old and needed a revamp anyway.

 

I thought the current season had seen a return to form, the best shows for a couple of years and mostly consistent as well, the longer series appeared to be working, but with hindsight it may have been the show's undoing.

 

And I think they were on a very great season. Chris Evans? Doubt that this will be a good enough replacement. Chris Evans is not nearly the expert in automotive sphere Clarkson is...

 

That was tongue in cheek! Chris Evans was effectively sacked from channel 4 because of Shaun Ryder back on TFI Friday!

 

Piers Morgan is never right. About anything. Ever.

D.D.

 

Vic Reeves for new presenter!

 

'tis a pity it had to end this way.
In my view Clarkson has been getting more and more contreversial over the last couple of years, almost to the point where I wonder if he has been purposely pushing the boundaries until the BBC have been left with no other option. Appartently he has long been frustrated with the power brokers within the BBC and one wonders if there has been an agenda there to get rid of him, the leaked footage of the 'n' word for example. This latest fracas could have been kept in house as well, I wonder how many other similar occurences with the 'talent' abusing the crew, both verbaly and physically, have happened over the years in the TV and Movie industry... I would imagine plenty. Doesn't make it right or wrong but usually they are kept quiet until the memoirs are published. Also it is worth noting Clarkson reported the incident himself, not the poor producer who was on the receiving end.
Ultimately I think Clarkson has paid the price for a cumulative series of faux pas and the hierachy in the BBC have decided enough is enough. Any single incident, even this last one, it would have been dealt with internally.
From a purely selfish perspective it is a shame, I enjoyed watching the program (with my 11 year old son which perhaps shows where the level of most of the humour is set) and took it for what it was - an entertaining show for a Sunday evening. Yes some if it is very silly and contrived but also some of it is exquisitely filmed and great TV. I find Clarkson can be very funny but I don't agree with everything he says and don't hold with a lot of his publicised political views. But then what Clarkson utters in public does not necessarily equate with his private views, in many ways he was acting out a character that had to keep topping each'outrageous' action he had done and that has a limited lifespan. By all accounts from the people who really know him he is actually a reasonably decent chap, but perhaps they would say that... who knows.
He should take some time off, get his life back in order and then freelance. Do some more war documentaries for one.

 

True. Some of his earlier test drives were good television, but he started to lose me after a few years.

 

I've been a Top Gear fan for years. I've never taken anything JC's Top Gear persona has said seriously; it's supposed to be funny. What I'm curious about now, is whether he'll continue this persona or change his shtick.

 

I think that IS his persona