BBC suspends 'Top Gear' presenter Jeremy Clarkson, Britain's BBC said on Tuesday it had suspended Jeremy Clarkson, the presenter of the globally popular 'Top Gear' show, after he was involved in a fracas with one of the broadcaster's producers.
"Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation," the broadcaster said in a statement. "No one else has been suspended."
The BBC said the car-focused show would not be broadcast on Sunday.Top Gear has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched factual television show of all time, with episodes broadcast in more than 200 countries and territories.
Clarkson, 54, has been censured in the past by the BBC and has courted controversy on several occasions during his time on the magazine-style show. The BBC said it would not comment any further on the matter and Clarkson could not immediately be reached.A friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, Clarkson became the popular face of Top Gear by mixing a passion for cars with blunt banter and swagger that offended, among others, environmental groups, mental health charities and cyclists.
Clarkson was called before BBC bosses last year after a British newspaper reported he had been heard using the word "nigger" as he recited an old version of the rhyme "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" to choose between cars in filming two years earlier.
The 54-year old presenter later apologized for any offence caused by the reports about the use of the word.
He wrote in his Sun newspaper column in May that he had been told by the BBC that if he made "one more offensive remark, anywhere at any time, I will be sacked".
But he was back in hot water in October when the show sparked a diplomatic incident between Britain and Argentina, two countries which went to war in 1982.
A Top Gear television crew was forced to flee Argentina after driving a Porsche 928 GT with the registration number H982 FKL - which some people suggested could refer to the Falklands conflict.
Despite or even because of years of controversy, however, Top Gear has become one of the BBC's most successful and lucrative programs. It was even recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched factual television show of all time.
The BBC said it would say nothing further on the matter and Clarkson could not be reached for comment. His manager and his assistant did not immediately return calls requesting comment.
"Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation," the broadcaster said in a statement. "No one else has been suspended."
The BBC said the car-focused show would not be broadcast on Sunday.Top Gear has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched factual television show of all time, with episodes broadcast in more than 200 countries and territories.
Clarkson, 54, has been censured in the past by the BBC and has courted controversy on several occasions during his time on the magazine-style show. The BBC said it would not comment any further on the matter and Clarkson could not immediately be reached.A friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, Clarkson became the popular face of Top Gear by mixing a passion for cars with blunt banter and swagger that offended, among others, environmental groups, mental health charities and cyclists.
Clarkson was called before BBC bosses last year after a British newspaper reported he had been heard using the word "nigger" as he recited an old version of the rhyme "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" to choose between cars in filming two years earlier.
The 54-year old presenter later apologized for any offence caused by the reports about the use of the word.
He wrote in his Sun newspaper column in May that he had been told by the BBC that if he made "one more offensive remark, anywhere at any time, I will be sacked".
But he was back in hot water in October when the show sparked a diplomatic incident between Britain and Argentina, two countries which went to war in 1982.
A Top Gear television crew was forced to flee Argentina after driving a Porsche 928 GT with the registration number H982 FKL - which some people suggested could refer to the Falklands conflict.
Despite or even because of years of controversy, however, Top Gear has become one of the BBC's most successful and lucrative programs. It was even recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched factual television show of all time.
The BBC said it would say nothing further on the matter and Clarkson could not be reached for comment. His manager and his assistant did not immediately return calls requesting comment.
