The Top Gear saga goes on: James May and Richard Hammond refuse to film without Jeremy Clarkson

The story of the “fracas” (scuffle) between Jeremy Clarkson and one of the Top Gear producers seems to get more complicated every day.

This whole saga began to take shape just over a week ago, when the popular British presenter got into a fight with one of the programme’s producers.

Following this incident, which apparently was sparked by a delay in serving dinner at a hotel, the consequences have been piling up, affecting every level of the British public broadcaster BBC, where the most famous motoring programme in the world was broadcast until now. We say “was broadcast” because one of the most immediate consequences of the incident was the cancellation of Top Gear’s broadcasts, which at that point was in its 22nd series.

Furthermore, Jeremy Clarkson was automatically suspended from his job and pay at the public broadcaster, and it seems he will not return to it, whatever the final outcome of this whole mess. To top it all, those in charge of the programme now appear to have backtracked, and the voices announcing that the remaining three episodes of the series will finally air are gaining strength.

However, even though the channel seems willing to take that step, we have just learned, thanks to the British newspaper The Mirror, that Clarkson’s two colleagues, James May and Richard Hammond, have refused to film without their co-presenter, which has put the programme’s producers and the channel’s managers in a tight spot. Meanwhile, the popular movement in the form of a petition to have Clarkson reinstated has already passed one million signatures, which clearly reflects the popularity of both the presenter and the programme.

Source: mirror.co.uk