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| Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman quits after Clarkson sacking – reports | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Top Gear’s executive producer, Andy Wilman, has reportedly quit the programme after its controversial host Jeremy Clarkson was sacked by the BBC for allegedly assaulting a producer. | Top Gear’s executive producer, Andy Wilman, has reportedly quit the programme after its controversial host Jeremy Clarkson was sacked by the BBC for allegedly assaulting a producer. |
| In a purportedly leaked email obtained by the motoring news website Jalopnik, Wilman paid tribute to the staff of the long-running show, saying they made “television that was beautiful to look at and beautiful to listen to”. | In a purportedly leaked email obtained by the motoring news website Jalopnik, Wilman paid tribute to the staff of the long-running show, saying they made “television that was beautiful to look at and beautiful to listen to”. |
| “At least we left ’em wanting more. And that alone, when you think about it, is quite an achievement for a show that started 13 years ago,” he wrote. | |
| “We had a lot of laughs, we had a lot of tiffs. We went to amazing places and we went to some shitholes. We nearly killed a presenter, we had to run for the border.” | “We had a lot of laughs, we had a lot of tiffs. We went to amazing places and we went to some shitholes. We nearly killed a presenter, we had to run for the border.” |
| Wilman attended Repton School with Clarkson and is credited, along with the brash former host, for redesigning and reviving the programme after it was cancelled in 2001. | Wilman attended Repton School with Clarkson and is credited, along with the brash former host, for redesigning and reviving the programme after it was cancelled in 2001. |
| The BBC declined to renew Clarkson’s contract last week after he was found to have engaged in “sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature” against a senior producer, Oisin Tymon, who was reportedly left with a bloody lip. | The BBC declined to renew Clarkson’s contract last week after he was found to have engaged in “sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature” against a senior producer, Oisin Tymon, who was reportedly left with a bloody lip. |
| His co-presenters, James May and Richard Hammond, have both indicated they might also move on from the hugely profitable show. | His co-presenters, James May and Richard Hammond, have both indicated they might also move on from the hugely profitable show. |
| Wilman’s email indicated the BBC would try to keep Top Gear going. “For those of you who still rely on it for work, don’t worry, because the BBC will make sure the show continues,” he wrote. | Wilman’s email indicated the BBC would try to keep Top Gear going. “For those of you who still rely on it for work, don’t worry, because the BBC will make sure the show continues,” he wrote. |
| “Our stint as guardians of Top Gear was a good one, but we were only part of the show’s history, not the whole of it. Those two words are bigger than us.” | “Our stint as guardians of Top Gear was a good one, but we were only part of the show’s history, not the whole of it. Those two words are bigger than us.” |
| His resignation raises further questions over whether Clarkson will appear at a Top Gear live event in Sydney scheduled for 18 April. Reports on Sunday suggested Clarkson, May and Hammond could perform the shows without Top Gear branding as part of a separate agreement. | His resignation raises further questions over whether Clarkson will appear at a Top Gear live event in Sydney scheduled for 18 April. Reports on Sunday suggested Clarkson, May and Hammond could perform the shows without Top Gear branding as part of a separate agreement. |
| A spokesman for the event’s promoters said they were “still working through the implications of Jeremy’s contract not being renewed by the BBC”. | A spokesman for the event’s promoters said they were “still working through the implications of Jeremy’s contract not being renewed by the BBC”. |
| “We will provide an update on the festival in Sydney later this week,” he said. | “We will provide an update on the festival in Sydney later this week,” he said. |
| A spokesman for the venue, Sydney Motorsport Park, told Guardian Australia they were being told “to keep forging ahead” as if the event was happening. | A spokesman for the venue, Sydney Motorsport Park, told Guardian Australia they were being told “to keep forging ahead” as if the event was happening. |