Rex/BBCIn a new “tell-all” book, a former script editor for Top Gear has thrown some serious shade at presenter Jeremy Clarkson and revealed some home truths about his attitude towards his co-workers.
In the book, And on that bombshell: Inside the madness and genius of Top Gear, Richard Porter claims Clarkson had a “lack of respect” for his colleagues and a diva-like attitude on the set.
He also called Clarkson out over the infamous “fracas” with producer Oisin Tymon, which saw the 55-year-old released from his BBC contract, saying the incident was “so stupid and so unnecessary”, and how Jezza had “let us down”.
According to the Telegraph, Porter wrote:
We’d happily work long and late, trying to find a unicorn, a Talbot Samba and a cat that looked like Kylie Minogue if that’s what Jeremy wanted. But when the reward for the team’s hard work was a smack in the chops, that suggested a lack of respect for the people who worked so tirelessly to make his vision a reality.
Porter worked alongside Clarkson for 13 years on the beloved motoring show and, after such a long professional relationship, he claims he was especially disappointed with the presenter’s “feeble” apology to the team.
He added:
He didn’t sit down or even take his jacket off. He just told us he’d made a confession to management and that he was sorry to all of us. With that he left the office for what would be the very last time.
I was furious. Properly, knee-jigglingly, teeth-grindingly furious. His apology seemed half-hearted and feeble, like a child saying the word sorry because they know it’s what the adults want to hear, rather than a sincere reflection of remorse.
The truly sad thing is, it was never meant to end this way. But actually, in this silly, feckless, childish, calamitous stupid world we created, it’s really no surprise that it did.
Clarkson has now teamed up with his old partners in crime, Richard Hammond and James May, for a new motoring show set to air on Amazon Prime next year, while Top Gear is set for a re-boot with Chris Evans at the helm.
Let’s hope neither end as dramatically or with as much bitterness as the original Top Gear did!
