Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Clarkson closes BBC door

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson peers around a corner to let a car into his home. The BBC decided last Wednesday not to renew the contract of the Top Gear host after a fracas with his producer. Photo / File

I have learned that no one is irreplaceable. Every time a valued staff member moved on, I would get a sinking feeling. Where would I find another great person like so and so? Yet, always, within a couple of months, I had to acknowledge "how lucky I am to have scored so and so. She's tops".

We may think we are "pretty hot stuff" and nobody does the job as well as we do, but experience has taught me there is always someone else ready to step up when the opportunity presents itself.

Someone should have told Jeremy Clarkson that. Obviously his boss, the BBC, know this fact. Of course it won't be easy to replace someone like Clarkson but within six months I bet that will be achieved. The BBC has taken the bold step of not renewing his contract. I think it was the right call in deciding his time with them had come to an end. He was apparently on borrowed time with tell-tale signs present for quite a while.

I can't say I have ever watched the motoring show Top Gear. It's very popular not only in Britain but in other countries, including New Zealand. There is something about Clarkson I don't care for. I have read about his behaviour and offensive comments over the years. These were usually aimed at the country he was filming in and their customs ... the country he was a guest in. He reminds me of the people I meet, who travel the world with "their eyes wide shut".

But it's horses for courses as they say, and thousands of people in Britain have petitioned the BBC to reinstate Clarkson. I suspect the BBC won't buckle. And nor should they.

You don't whack a colleague in the head, for any reason, no matter how popular you are. Popularity is no excuse for shabby behaviour. It was a cowardly act. Clarkson is a big man and size can be intimidating. And no doubt being a "big shot" he can call the shots.

But to fly off the handle, to whack and verbally abuse a member of the production team is bad behaviour, bad form and very unprofessional.

In television it's not just the "front person" who makes a show. It's a team effort. Everyone involved in producing a show: the writers, producer, director, set crew, presenter and caterers, they all play their part. You don't have a show without the collective efforts of the entire film crew.

What Clarkson displayed was a lack of personal character. He is aware of ethical behaviour but felt entitled to disregard that in this instance. Now he has fallen from grace because he lacked the discipline that comes from good character.

He does have a significant worldwide following. A leadership position in other words. This is not just a role one plays: it is a life one leads. He has yet to learn that "character is much easier kept than recovered".

There has been little said and heard from the man who got whacked by Clarkson - Oison Tymon. All the attention has focused on Clarkson.

The thousands of people who feel gutted by Clarkson's departure from their screens and who petitioned the BBC, appear to minimise his behaviour. The message is that it's OK to hit someone who doesn't have the popularity of Clarkson. Someone who is just a team member. But it's not OK. And never will be.

Clarkson's behaviour affected one of the BBC's most popular and profitable programmes. It impacted on their responsibility as an employer to ensure all staff are safe in the workplace. And it will also affect the incomes of the many people who work on producing the programme.

Clarkson has a character failing. He acts as if he has done nothing wrong, and now looks likely to sue the BBC. He believed he could cruise along on his popularity alone. The American businessman Elmer G Letterman wrote: "Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open". Clarkson should not have expected his personality to carry him in life. Rather, his success should be carried by his character.

-Merepeka lives in Rotorua. She writes, speaks and broadcasts to thwart the spread of political correctness.