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He’s the outspoken television personality whose views have long courted controversy.
But Jeremy Clarkson has hit headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks amid the ongoing backlash over his controversial Meghan Markle column.
The ex-Top Gear frontman, 62, is battling to save his broadcasting career after it was widely reported that he is set to be dropped from his lucrative roles with ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ and ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?’.
MailOnline understands that both Amazon and ITV, who are said to pay Clarkson a combined £13million each year, are considering axing the controversial broadcaster.
But, after amassing a personal fortune worth well over £50million, the veteran journalist could choose to step away from the spotlight altogether and retreat to a simpler life.
Jeremy Clarkson (pictured on Top Gear) is battling to save his career amid the ongoing fallout from his controversial Meghan Markle column
It has been widely reported that Clarkson is set to be dropped from his £3million-a-year role with ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?’
Amazon Prime is set to stop producing The Grand Tour (pictured), which earns Clarkson at least £10million annually
Born to humble beginnings in Doncaster in 1960, Clarkson’s career began as travelling salesman before he started training as a fledgling journalist on the Rotherham Advertiser.
He won his big break and served as the host of Top Gear from 1988 to 1998 during its original run, where he began to establish his broadcasting career and emerged as one of the most ubiquitous TV personalities in the UK – pocketing at least £1million-a-year from the BBC in his heyday.
It was from this early success that Clarkson delved into the commercial element of television, with his Bedder 6 company picking up six-figure dividend payments while he became a household name across the globe with Top Gear.
Clarkson’s cashflow has been fuelled further by income from scores of bestselling books, DVDs and columns for newspapers and magazines over the years.
It’s understood that Clarkson could also pocket £25,000 a pop each time he takes to the lucrative after dinner speaker circuit – an exclusive club that is normally reserved for politicians, business magnates and former world leaders.
The Amazon show Clarkson’s Farm is still set to hit screens for its second season later this year
His personal car collection, which boasts a mix of luxury cars and more practical day to day motors, is estimated to be worth more than £500,000.
ITV bosses said they had no ‘commitments’ to further editions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
In 2018, after his acrimonious split with the BBC two years earlier, Clarkson picked up his £3million-a-year Who Wants to be a Millionaire? hosting gig with ITV.
Amazon were also prepared to make the veteran broadcaster the highest paid television host in Britain when they offered an eyewatering £160million to Clarkson and Top Gear chums Richard Hammond and James May for the trio to reunite for The Grand Tour.
His personal car collection, which boasts a mix of luxury cars and more practical day to day motors, is estimated to be worth more than £500,000.
The journalist’s sprawling Cotswold retreat, the scene for his hit television show, Clarkson’s Farm. was purchased in 2008 and is said to be worth more than £6million today.
Prime Video has confirmed that Clarkson’s Farm second season will launch on February 10
In a public rejection of his apologies, the Sussexes’ cheerleader, Omid Scobie, last night tweeted a statement from a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan (pictured together), accusing Clarkson of ‘spreading dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny’
It comes as Mr Clarkson‘s television career is said to be hanging by a thread after Amazon and ITV both hinted at dropping the former Top Gear star.
Fans of the 62-year-old fear he is being ‘cancelled in front of our very eyes’ after it was reported that Amazon Prime is set to stop producing the presenter’s shows – Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour – next year, the latter of which earns him at least £10million annually.
Meanwhile, ITV bosses said they had no ‘commitments’ to further editions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? – fronted by Clarkson – beyond the upcoming, already-commissioned series.
Although one director insisted back in December that Clarkson, thought to earn around £3million per year from the quiz show, had not been sacked over his remarks ‘at the moment’, the recording of Millionaire celebrity specials were suddenly pushed back last week due to ‘scheduling issues’.
It comes as some critics today implored the Sussexes to ‘move on’ from the ‘drama’, suggesting their quest for the ‘total humiliation’ of Clarkson by publicly rejecting his apologies goes against the ‘compassion and love’ that they so often preach.
However others branded Clarkson’s contrition insincere, accusing the TV star of failing to address the offence caused by his column and of being motivated by his own lucrative career interests.
Opinions were just as divided online, with supporters of Clarkson blasting ‘woke’ TV executives for ‘cancelling’ the star. Several claimed they had ended their Amazon Prime subscriptions in protest.
But others said Clarkson had a ‘long history of messing up’, with one thanking Amazon, telling the company in a tweet that she would have cancelled her membership had they had not ‘dropped’ his series.
In a public rejection of his apologies, the Sussexes’ cheerleader, Omid Scobie, last night tweeted a statement from a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan, accusing Clarkson of ‘spreading dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny’ – claiming it was ‘not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.’
In his column for the Sun newspaper last month, Clarkson said he ‘hated’ Meghan Markle and wanted to see her paraded through the streets naked while people throw ‘excrement’ at her – apparently referencing a public shaming scene from the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.
Following outrage, he wrote to the Sussexes to apologise on Christmas Day – although the couple later claimed his letter only addressed Harry directly – before he shared a lengthy public apology on his Instagram account yesterday.
But historian and broadcaster Dr Tessa Dunlop told Good Morning Britain today that she did not accept his apologies ‘on numerous levels’.
Speaking to presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, she said: ‘The way in which he apologised is flawed, and his behaviour over the long term is flawed. This is a man who has had numerous second chances…’
She added: ‘If you look at the way he actually approached this, he said to Harry, and apparently only to Harry, not to Meghan as well, you know ”I’m baffled by your TV show, but horrified by my own behaviour, I’m sorry” – that’s kind of a conditional apology… it’s a bit like saying: ”Oh, I find your face really ugly but I’m sorry I punched it.’
Ms Dunlop added: ‘Secondly the timing stinks. If you rummage around in the small print, Amazon Prime is currently reviewing recommissioning The Grand Tour… this is a guy who’s worried about his money-making empire crumbling because he hasn’t been – to use his word – vigilant.’
However, The Apprentice star and entrepreneur Bushra Shaikh, sitting opposite Ms Dunlop, said it was time for everyone to ‘move on’.
‘Just accept it, and let’s move one, we need to build some positivity, I feel like it’s drama-centric, why are we going over the same thing again?’, she implored.
‘It’s Jeremy Clarkson. He’s holding his hands up and he’s saying ”I’ve done something wrong, I’ve said something wrong, it’s not right and I’m trying to put this right”, and let’s just move on.’
Historian and broadcaster Dr Tessa Dunlop (pictured) told Good Morning Britain today that she did not accept Clarkson’s apologies ‘on numerous levels’
The Apprentice star and entrepreneur Bushra Shaikh (pictured), sitting opposite Ms Dunlop on Good Morning Britain, said it was time for everyone to ‘move on’
It is not clear if any other projects of Clarkson have been jeopardised by the controversy.
He is currently the presenter of the gameshow Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on ITV. Bosses at the broadcaster told MailOnline they were not offering any comment at this time.
But when asked directly if Clarkson would be presenting the show, a spokesperson said ITV ‘has a further series contractually commissioned and due to film’, adding that there was ‘no further commissioning commitments beyond that currently.’
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Director of Media and Entertainment, previously said in December that he had ‘no control’ over what Clarkson wrote in his columns but did go as far as asking him to apologise.
Asked if Clarkson would be kept on as host of Millionaire, Mr Lygo said: ‘Yes, at the moment we are. What he says in the papers we have no control of.’
Clarkson is thought to be paid about £3 million a year to present the hit quiz show, having taken over from Chris Tarrant in 2018.
But the Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff reports that he was due to film celebrity special editions of the show next month, before they were pushed back due to ‘scheduling issues’.
The studio, crew and celebrities were all booked to attend the Dock 10 studio in Manchester and arrangements for the programmes – which would have raised money for charity – were finalised.
However at the end of last week, the production company told participants that filming had been postponed due to ‘scheduling issues.’
An email said: ‘Owing to some movement in the ITV schedules, we’re now unable to record the planned Celebrity specials until later this year.’
And last night, a virtual press conference to promote the second season of Clarkson’s Farm was cancelled by Amazon at the last-minute, although the series will still be available for streaming from February 10.
In his apology, Clarkson had admitted that Amazon executives were ‘incandescent’ following his column, with reports suggesting the company will be unlikely to work with him in the near future.
It comes as political commentators have accused the Sussexes of undermining their own ethos by refusing to accept Clarkson’s apology.
Nigel Farage, appearing on GB News, said: ‘These people [the Sussexes] talk about compassion, and love, and all these things that Meghan puts herself as the high priestess of, and actually, she represents, and laughing boy Harry with her, represent the new left of America.
Jeremy Clarkson says he emailed Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day apologising
‘They are about destroying their opposition. They use the opportunity to accuse him of being a conspiracy theorist, a misogynist, a hatemonger, and you begin to understand, this is what cancel culture is actually all about.’
He later added: ‘You see, even when you apologise to Harry and Meghan, that is not good enough. What they want is total humiliation!’
It comes after Harry branded Clarkson’s article about his wife ‘horrific, hurtful and cruel’ during an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby to discuss his autobiography Spare earlier this month.
In Omid Scobie’s tweet on Monday, he said Clarkson had emailed his apology over the column attacking the duchess to Harry ‘solely’ rather than Meghan.
It read: ‘On December 25, 2022, Mr. Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked Private and Confidential.
Prince Harry branded the article about his wife Meghan Markle ‘horrific, hurtful and cruel’
‘While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr. Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny.
‘Unless each of his other pieces were also written ‘in a hurry’, as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.’
It comes as Variety have reported that Amazon Prime Video will not be working with Clarkson beyond seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm that they have previously commissioned.
The reports say Clarkson’s Farm could end with Season 3, expected in 2024, and The Grand Tour could end after four more special episodes, the last of which is expected to be in late 2024.
Clarkson’s Farm documents his efforts to run the Oxfordshire Farm he bought in 2008.
The success of the series has seen visitors flock to the Diddly Squat farm shop in Chipping Norton Road, Chadlington and the second series is due to launch on February 10 on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories.
Amazon have been approached for comment.
Clarkson, meanwhile, has said he emailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day to apologise over his column in The Sun newspaper in which he said he ‘hated’ Meghan.
The piece, in which the 62-year-old TV presenter said he dreamed of the duchess being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed, became the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s (Ipso) most complained-about article after its publication.
The Sun later apologised and said it regretted the publication of the column which last week surpassed more than 25,000 Ipso complaints.
In a lengthy statement on his verified Instagram account, The Grand Tour presenter earlier said he emailed the couple on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been ‘disgraceful’ and he was ‘profoundly sorry’.
He said: ‘One of the strange things I’ve noticed in recent times is that whenever an MP or a well-known person is asked to apologise for something, no matter how heartfelt or profound that apology may be, it’s never enough for the people who called for it in the first place.
In a lengthy statement on his verified Instagram account, The Grand Tour presenter said he emailed the couple on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been ‘disgraceful’ and he was ‘profoundly sorry’
Sussexes cheerleader Omid Scobie today tweeted a statement from a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan
‘So I’m going to try and buck the trend this morning with an apology for the things I said in a Sun column recently about Meghan Markle. I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head. This is me putting my hands up. Its a mea culpa with bells on.
‘Usually, I read what I’ve written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, and in a hurry. So when I’d finished, I just pressed Send. And then, when the column appeared the next day, the landmine exploded.’
Clarkson described the moment he picked up a copy of the Sun to ‘see what all the fuss was about.’
He continued: ‘We’ve all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we’ve completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible.
‘I knew what had happened straight away. I’d been thinking of a scene in Games Of Thrones, but I’d forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head.
‘I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism.
‘I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious. Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me.’
Clarkson’s statement went on to say ITV and Amazon, which airs Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and The Grand Tour respectively, were ‘incandescent’.
He said: ‘The Sun quickly apologised and I tried to explain myself. But still, there were calls for me to be sacked and charged with a hate crime.
‘More than 60 MPs demanded action to be taken. ITV, who make Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Amazon, who make the Farm Show and the Grand Tour, were incandescent.
‘I therefore wrote to everyone who works with me saying how sorry I was and then on Christmas morning, I emailed Harry and Meghan in California to apologise to them too.
‘I said I was baffled by what they had been saying on TV but that the language I’d used in my column was disgraceful and that I was profoundly sorry.’
Clarkson said he will ‘try’ to be ‘interesting and vigilant’ at the same time in future columns.
The reports say Clarkson’s Farm could end with Season 3, expected in 2024
His statement concluded: ‘Over the last 30 years, I have written very nearly five thousand newspaper and magazine columns, so it was inevitable that one day, I’d do a Harry Kane and sky one of the damn things. Which is what happened with the piece about Meghan.
‘So can I move on now? Not sure. It’s hard to be interesting and vigilant at the same time. You never hear peals of laughter coming from a health and safety seminar. But I promise you this, I will try.
‘Who knows? Very soon now I shall be a grandfather, so in future, maybe I’ll just write about that.’
MailOnline has approached Amazon and representatives of Jeremy Clarkson for comment.
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