There are been some pretty dramatic TV exits of the years, like when Conan was pushed out of hosting The Tonight Show in favor of Jay Leno and Skip Bayless heading to Fox Sports from ESPN. But the ultimate drama happened over in the UK a few years ago when the iconic host of BBC’s Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, was pushed out following a spat with a producer on the show.
Top Gear is one of the most-watched television shows in the world. The hit the BBC took by losing Clarkson was brutal (and, ultimate, Amazon PRIME’s gain). The ratings for the show have never recovered. And now it sounds like the BBC has some regrets. Mark Thompson, former president of the BBC/current CEO of the New York Times, told the Sunday Times that the channel couldn’t afford to lose a person like Clarkson. Via The Wrap:
“Clarkson can be a deeply objectionable individual, and I say that as a friend. I don’t think people should punch their colleagues. It’s hard to keep them if they do,” Mark Thompson, who is now CEO of the New York Times, told Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine.
“But I would say his pungent, transgressive, slightly out-of-control talent was something the BBC could ill afford to lose. He spoke to people who didn’t find much else in the BBC,” he said.
After Clarkson left the show in a blaze of controversy that included a lawsuit brought against him by Oisin Tymon, British radio host Chris Evans was brought in to take the wheel — but then he quit last month.
No takesies backsies! Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos is smiling ear-to-ear.