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Jeremy Clarkson to his critics: go and create a Top Gear rival Jeremy Clarkson to his critics: go and create a rival to Top Gear
(about 9 hours later)
Jeremy Clarkson has told his critics that creating a rival to Top Gear “isn’t hard”, in what is almost certainly his last column for the BBC show’s monthly magazine.Jeremy Clarkson has told his critics that creating a rival to Top Gear “isn’t hard”, in what is almost certainly his last column for the BBC show’s monthly magazine.
Clarkson, who was told by the BBC on Thursday that his contract will not be renewed when it expires next week, used the column to challenge viewers who criticise the show to go and create a rival.Clarkson, who was told by the BBC on Thursday that his contract will not be renewed when it expires next week, used the column to challenge viewers who criticise the show to go and create a rival.
He said that unlike the glut of, say, food-related shows the market for TV motoring series is wide open.He said that unlike the glut of, say, food-related shows the market for TV motoring series is wide open.
“You have Jamie and Heston and Marco and Delia, and there’s that cake thing on the television,” he said. “Recipes are everywhere. It’s different with cars. You have Top Gear and Fifth Gear and Chris Harris and, er, that’s it. So, in order to shine, all you have to be is better than Captain Slow, a midget, a pensioner, an orangutan and a monkey. Which isn’t hard.”“You have Jamie and Heston and Marco and Delia, and there’s that cake thing on the television,” he said. “Recipes are everywhere. It’s different with cars. You have Top Gear and Fifth Gear and Chris Harris and, er, that’s it. So, in order to shine, all you have to be is better than Captain Slow, a midget, a pensioner, an orangutan and a monkey. Which isn’t hard.”
Related: Jeremy Clarkson could face police investigation after BBC dismissalRelated: Jeremy Clarkson could face police investigation after BBC dismissal
Clarkson used the column as a swansong of sorts, describing how he went from a journalist on a small local newspaper to the frontman for the world’s biggest factual entertainment TV show.Clarkson used the column as a swansong of sorts, describing how he went from a journalist on a small local newspaper to the frontman for the world’s biggest factual entertainment TV show.
“I started small, on the Shropshire Star with little Peugeots and Fiats and worked my way up to Ford Granadas and Rovers until, after about seven years, I was allowed to drive an Aston Martin Lagonda, but only with a man from the company in the back seat. It was 10 years before I drove my first Lamborghini.”“I started small, on the Shropshire Star with little Peugeots and Fiats and worked my way up to Ford Granadas and Rovers until, after about seven years, I was allowed to drive an Aston Martin Lagonda, but only with a man from the company in the back seat. It was 10 years before I drove my first Lamborghini.”
He said that he eventually had a piece published in a magazine called Performance Car, which fuelled a screen test for Top Gear.He said that he eventually had a piece published in a magazine called Performance Car, which fuelled a screen test for Top Gear.
He said: “I didn’t look good. I didn’t dress well. And I didn’t really know what I was talking about. But there I was, on television, standing by the side of the road in Northamptonshire, waiting for a plane to fly over and for the rain to stop so I could tell eight people who truly loved cars how many suitcases you could get into the back of a Vauxhall Vectra.”He said: “I didn’t look good. I didn’t dress well. And I didn’t really know what I was talking about. But there I was, on television, standing by the side of the road in Northamptonshire, waiting for a plane to fly over and for the rain to stop so I could tell eight people who truly loved cars how many suitcases you could get into the back of a Vauxhall Vectra.”
Clarkson said that he then realised the winning formula that was needed to catapult Top Gear into what would become a £50m brand, broadcast in over 200 territories globally.Clarkson said that he then realised the winning formula that was needed to catapult Top Gear into what would become a £50m brand, broadcast in over 200 territories globally.
“I realised what most people wanted was noise, speed and sumptuous photography and a racing driver who doesn’t speak,” he said. “So we took it up from fourth, which was the top gear back then, into eighth, which is Top Gear now.”“I realised what most people wanted was noise, speed and sumptuous photography and a racing driver who doesn’t speak,” he said. “So we took it up from fourth, which was the top gear back then, into eighth, which is Top Gear now.”
It is understood that Clarkson wrote the copy for the column before the incident that led to his exit from Top Gear.It is understood that Clarkson wrote the copy for the column before the incident that led to his exit from Top Gear.