Jeremy Clarkson in the crowds at a Chelsea match this week. He has hinted that even if he escapes sacking or some other form of disciplinary action he may still quit Top Gear. Photo / AP
Jeremy Clarkson in the crowds at a Chelsea match this week. He has hinted that even if he escapes sacking or some other form of disciplinary action he may still quit Top Gear. Photo / AP
Jeremy Clarkson punched his Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon in the face following a 40-minute rant in which he swore at him and referred to him as a "lazy Irish", eyewitnesses have claimed.
The presenter of Top Gear, who has been suspended pending an internal BBC investigation into his conduct at a hotel in Yorkshire during filming of the show, is said to have threatened to have Tymon sacked during the heated row over food.
A guest at the hotel where the BBC team were staying said Clarkson was furious to find that there was no hot meal available when he and his co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond returned from a drinking session at a nearby pub.
In one of the first independent accounts to emerge of the fracas Sue Ward, from Leeds, claimed the presenter complained it was "ridiculous there was noting to eat" and that the producer had not done his job properly.
Mrs Ward, who was staying at the Simonstone Hall hotel, near Hawes, told Sky News: "Obviously there were a lot of expletives in between all this. Clarkson told his colleague he would see to it that he would be losing his job."
A relative of Mrs Ward, called Denise, 51, said: "It was the shock of how can someone be so rude? It was the swearing and the length of time and this poor guy he ripped into."
Another source said that Clarkson called Tymon, 36, a "lazy Irish c***" before splitting his lip with a punch that left him with blood running down his face.
Tymon is understood to have received treatment at the A&E department at Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, and is said to have also suffered dizziness.
Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon was reportedly punched in the face by Clarkson. Photo / BBC
The producer, who has received abuse on social media following Clarkson's suspension, including violent threats, has consulted lawyers over the incident.
Slater and Gordon solicitors said: "We are assisting Oisin Tymon in relation to incidents occurring during his employment at the BBC."
Mrs Ward, a medical receptionist, added: "Even someone who's really inept at their job should be told properly, in a proper manner. But the fact that it was in a public place, I didn't want to listen to that language."
It is understood that Clarkson will firmly deny either using xenophobic language or punching Tymon when he appears before the BBC inquiry being conducted by the head of BBC Scotland, Ken MacQuarrie. It has been reported that he raised the incident himself with senior BBC managers after meeting with the Top Gear crew to apologise for his outburst.
Screaming abuse
Clarkson had been due to arrive at the hotel by helicopter from the Top Gear studio in Dunsfold, Surrey, where he had been filming with May and Hammond. But the trio are said to have kept the helicopter waiting while they went into a local pub for two hours to drink.
By the time they arrived at the hotel most of the Top Gear production team had gone to bed, save Tymon who stayed up to greet Clarkson and his colleagues.
A source said: "Oisin had waited to see the presenters before going to bed, but when Clarkson arrived he was very agitated. You could hear him screaming abuse at the hotel bar. He kept saying, 'He's f****** gone', while people tried to calm him down.
Eventually the hotel's general manager, Robert Scott, prepared a £21.95 steak for the presenter, in an attempt to calm him down.
Clarkson himself has hinted that even if he escapes sacking or some other form of disciplinary action he may still quit the BBC show.
Writing in his column in the Sun on Saturday, he did not comment directly on the incident - save to thank the thousands of people who had signed a petition in his support- but alluded to his fate by writing about the decline and eventual extinction of the dinosaurs.
He said: "All the dinosaurs died and now, years later, no one mourn their passing. These big imposing creatures have no place in a world that has moved on. You can start as many campaigns as you like and call on the support of politicians from all sides, but the day must come when you have to wave goodbye to the big monsters and move on. we lose one animal and gat another. The world turns."
More than 800,000 people have now signed a petition to reinstate the presenter, fuelling speculation that Top Gear would be scrapped if Clarkson was sacked.
Show will survive
But insiders have said the BBC - which holds the rights to the format - is quite prepared to continue making the programme even if it means getting a new presenter or presenters.
One source said other popular shows had survived a change of presenter and there was no reason Top Gear could not do the same.
The source also pointed out that the BBC remained the best place for an irreverent and fearless motoring consumer programme, because the Corporation was not beholden to advertisers.
The source told the Telegraph: "If the guys wanted to go to another channel to do a different show, would it be better than Top Gear on the BBC with all its commercial freedom?"
"I think it would be bonkers to suggest we would automatically have to shut up shop. People seem to think that no Jeremy Clarkson means no Top Gear, but programmes can be more robust than people might think."
Danny Cohen, the director of television, has also made it clear that no one star is considered bigger than the corporation and Clarkson was recently warned that he was in the "last chance saloon", following a string of controversies.
But many fans of the show, which is sold around the world guaranteeing millions in revenue for the Corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, believe it will struggle to replicate its current success without Clarkson at the helm.
It is understood not all the potential witnesses to the row have yet been contacted ahead of the hearing.
Clarkson is scheduled to appear alongside co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond at four live shows in Norway on March 27 and 28 and a decision on whether to go ahead is expected early next week. All three men's contracts expire three days after the Norway gigs, which could render any disciplinary hearings redundant.
The last three episodes of the series have currently been put on hold and the BBC has apologised to viewers who complained about the postponed episodes.
In a statement it said: "We do hope you'll understand that we value this reaction, but the investigation is still under way. Until more is known, we're therefore unable to say anything further in response and will not yet be making further statements about the issue. We realise you'll be disappointed that we can't respond to you in any more detail but thank you for contacting us."
