Clarkson pal and Top Gear producer Andy Wilman resigns from BBC

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/23/top-gear-producer-andy-wilman-resigns-bbc

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Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman has resigned from the BBC, fuelling speculation that he will reunite with Jeremy Clarkson on a rival motoring show.

Wilman, a long-time friend and colleague of Clarkson, was the driving force behind the show and was responsible for reinventing Top Gear with Clarkson when it returned in its modern incarnation in 2002.

A member of BBC staff, his departure was confirmed by the corporation on Thursday, a month after Wilman had sent the programme’s team an email titled “au revoir”.

At the time Wilman denied it was a “resignation statement” but it bore all the hallmarks of a valedictory farewell, thanking staff for their efforts and saying they had 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,” said Wilman.

He added: “For those of you who still rely on it for work, don’t worry, because the BBC will make sure the show continues. 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.”

The BBC has said it will bring back Top Gear next year in a new incarnation but it will have to do so without Wilman, Clarkson and his co-presenter James May, who said he would not return to the show without Clarkson.

Related: Top Gear: James May rules out returning without Jeremy Clarkson

The future of the third presenter, Richard Hammond, remains unclear.

Clarkson was axed from Top Gear last month after the BBC decided not to renew his contract following his unprovoked attack on producer Oisin Tymon in March which left the producer seeking hospital treatment.

BBC director general Tony Hall said a line had been crossed and Clarkson, a frequent source of controversy in the past, had failed to maintain standards of decency and respect at work.

Clarkson has been linked with a move to US on-demand service Netflix in recent weeks, and Wilman’s departure will do nothing to dampen down that speculation.

A move to a rival UK broadcaster also remains a possibility but Netflix, home to Kevin Spacey’s House of Cards, has emerged as the frontrunner.

Top Gear is the BBC’s most valuable show, watched by 6 million viewers on BBC2 and a hit in more than 200 countries around the world, generating £50m a year for its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.