'Clarkson is a big, big hole to fill' Top Gear team reflect on presenter's sacking
JEREMY Clarkson leaves a "big, big hole to fill" following his sacking, the team behind Top Gear have said.
TopGear.com released a statement apologising to their fans, just days after the controversial presenter was told his contract with the BBC would not be renewed following the infamous "fracas" with producer Oisin Tymon.
Admitting that it had been a "difficult period" for all of the team, the statement went on to reassure its fan that the BBC WILL renew Top Gear 2016.
It read: "None of us has found the past month easy, and we know some of you suspect this spells the end for Top Gear.
"TopGear.com will continue to bring you the sharpest, funniest automotive coverage, the biggest exclusives and the oddest road trips.
"Right now, there's more astonishing stuff going on in the world of cars than ever before, and we reckon you deserve to know about it.
"That isn't to underestimate the incalculable contribution of JC to making Top Gear what it is."
He's a big, big hole to fill
The statement added: "He's a big, big hole to fill, and the team you've trusted to make the world's greatest motoring show will be figuring out over the coming months exactly how to do that."
The producer had his lip split in a 30-second-long assault in a North Yorkshire hotel earlier this month.
Mr Tymon took himself to hospital with his injuries, but it was Clarkson who reported the incident to the BBC five days later and was suspended by the broadcaster on March 10.
The outspoken presenter received widespread public support - including from his friend, Prime Minister David Cameron - while one million people signed a petition calling for the BBC to reinstate him.
But on Wednesday, BBC director-general Tony Hall announced he would not be renewing Clarkson's contract, saying "a line has been crossed" and that "there cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another".
Meanwhile Clarkson's post-BBC career doesn't look like it's going as well as hoped.
Sky and Channel 4 are understood to have ruled out working with Clarkson, while ITV said it would not comment on "a BBC issue".
Earlier this week Clarkson simply said "everybody's upset" as he left his west London home on a bike, before asking asking fans to respect Mr Tymon's privacy.
"All I would like to say is, I wish people would leave Ois alone because none of this was his fault," he said.
