Oisin Tymon, the Top Gear producer verbally and physically attacked by Jeremy Clarkson in March is suing both the BBC and the former presenter for more than £100,000 for racial discrimination and personal injury.
According to The Guardian, lawyers for both Mr Tymon and the BBC attended the Central London Employment Tribunal on Friday for a preliminary hearing. A spokesman for the BBC said: “We will be responding to this claim but will not be commenting further at this time.”
The argument erupted when the usually placid and quiet Clarkson threw his toys out of the pram when he was not served steak after a day’s filming for Top Gear in Yorkshire.
A BBC investigation found that Clarkson then subjected Tymon to: “An unprovoked physical and verbal attack during which he was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip.” If lawyers fail to settle the grievance, the next step will be a full employment tribunal which would take place in the new year.
Amazon, whose recently launched TV ad campaign starring Clarkson has been viewed more than 2.3 million times on YouTube, declined to comment on the case. However Clarkson used it as an opportunity to take a swipe at his former employers, saying: “Back in the Spring, as you probably remember, I suddenly became unbusy.”
He then demonstrate Amazon’s TV service, saying that it has “everything you could possibly want” before quickly swiping past the BBC iPlayer.
Is it just me that hopes he gets really, really fucked over by this?
