Top Gear Dropped For A Week, Clarkson Cops Suspension Over ‘Fracas’

“Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation. No one else has been suspended. Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday.”

That, from UK public-service broadcaster the BBC earlier today, was the first sign that fans of motoring variety show Top Gear will instead be watching a documentary on the Caribbean this Sunday.

‘The Beeb’ has offered little else on the matter, although reports out of the UK suggest Clarkson was benched for throwing a punch at a BBC producer sometime last week over the matter of an undelivered dinner.

(The authenticity of that allegation, whether the punch connected, or whether dinner ever did arrive, has not been confirmed.)

This week’s Top Gear episode, the third-last for the season, has been postponed and a new air date is yet to be revealed. Fans can likely expect the show to return next weekend, with the remaining two shows to follow.

The automotive focus of this week’s episode was to be the new Subaru WRX STI and the new VW Golf R. You can catch our reviews of both here.

Clarkson’s suspension follows a number of warnings for troublesome behaviour, the most recent being for the use of the ‘N-word’ while reciting the rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe during filming. (The footage didn't make the final cut.)

He later wrote that the warning included confirmation that he would be sacked if any further offensive utterances escaped his mouth in the future.

@JeremyClarkson how can @BBC not show the remaining episodes of Top Gear, cant this be resolved without making the fans suffer

— Nathan Badcock (@nathbadco) March 10, 2015