--- description: "Oisin Tymon was subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack by Jeremy Clarkson" title: Jeremy Clarkson Ditched by BBC Over Attack on Producer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt578fc16f45a05957/698785288e0601bc1845af12/145502846.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jeremy Clarkson Ditched by BBC Over Attack on Producer by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2015 2:38 PM CUT  Jeremy Clarkson in London in 2012. Jeremy Clarkson in London in 2012.Ian Gavan — Getty Images by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2015 2:38 PM CUT After two weeks in limbo, the BBC have announced that they’re officially dropping _Top Gear_ host Jeremy Clarkson. The 54-year-old auto journalist and presenter was suspended after he allegedly tried to punch a producer, which the BBC originally dubbed a “fracas.” The broadcaster announced Clarkson’s suspension in a statement on Mar. 11, saying: “Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation. No one else has been suspended.” It quickly emerged that Clarkson struck the _Top Gear_ producer, Oisin Tymon, after filming in a Yorkshire hotel and learning he wouldn’t be served a hot steak meal — though the BBC didn’t initially define “fracas.” Following an internal investigation led by the director of BBC Scotland Ken MacQuarrie, the broadcaster found that producer “Oisin Tymon was subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack by Jeremy Clarkson. During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip. The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period, both at the time of the physical attack and subsequently.” The report also stressed that Tymon “offered no retaliation” and was the victim “through no fault of his own.” The BBC’s director general Tony Hall announced on Wednesday that Clarkson’s contract would not be renewed, “marking the end of his time as _Top Gear_ presenter.” (Clarkson’s contract was due to end at the end of the month.) Hall also said that the organization had “not taken this decision lightly,” but “a line has been crossed” and he could not “condone what has happened on this occasion.” As rumors of Clarkson’s firing began to swirl, so did rumors of his possible replacement though no one has officially been announced. It’s also unclear what will happen to Clarkson’s co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, whose contracts were also up at the end of March, though Hall did indicate that the BBC would be attempting to renew _Top Gear_ for the 2016 season. This isn’t the first time that [Clarkson has found himself at the center of a controversy](http://time.com/3740238/top-gear-jeremy-clarkson/ "undefined") and in 2014 the BBC gave the presenter a final warning after unused _Top Gear_ footage, found by the _Daily Mirror_, appeared to show Clarkson [use the N-word](http://time.com/3740238/top-gear-jeremy-clarkson/ "undefined"). **Read More:** [**Six Times The BBC Should Have Suspended Jeremy Clarkson But Didn’t**](http://time.com/3740238/top-gear-jeremy-clarkson/ "undefined") Yet Clarkson has plenty of people in his corner. The series has a huge following, largely thanks to Clarkson’s often offensive humor and disdain for political correctness. Shortly after he was suspended, [an online petition](https://www.change.org/p/bbc-reinstate-jeremy-clarkson "undefined") clamoring for Clarkson’s return to _Top Gear_ cropped up and has more than a million signatures. Even political leaders spoke out in his defense: the U.K.’s prime minister, David Cameron, told the BBC in an on-air interview that Clarkson was a friend and “because he is such a talent and he amuses and entertains so many people, including my children, who’d be heartbroken if _Top Gear_ was taken off air, I hope this can be sorted out, because it’s a great programme and he’s a great talent.” He later told an interviewer that his daughter had even threatened to go on a hunger strike if Clarkson wasn’t reinstated. In his remarks on Wednesday, Hall also noted Clarkson’s popularity, adding, “Jeremy is a huge talent. He may be leaving the BBC but I am sure he will continue to entertain, challenge and amuse audiences for many years to come.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3757668/jeremy-clarkson-fired-top-gear/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3757668/jeremy-clarkson-fired-top-gear/"},"headline":"Jeremy Clarkson Ditched by BBC Over Attack on Producer","datePublished":"2015-03-25T14:38:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:25:12.516Z","description":"\"Oisin Tymon was subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack by Jeremy Clarkson\"","url":"https://time.com/3757668/jeremy-clarkson-fired-top-gear/","keywords":["Television","BBC"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt578fc16f45a05957/698785288e0601bc1845af12/145502846.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt578fc16f45a05957/698785288e0601bc1845af12/145502846.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FILE Jeremy Clarksons Top Gear Contract With The BBC Will Not Be Renewed London England - May 31, 2012.","caption":"Jeremy Clarkson in London in 2012.","creditText":"Ian Gavan — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3757668/jeremy-clarkson-fired-top-gear/","name":"Jeremy Clarkson Ditched by BBC Over Attack on Producer"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"BBC Suspends 'Top Gear' Host Jeremy Clarkson After 'Fracas'","description":"Tuesday, BBC suspended the popular car show host after he allegedly hit a producer during an incident last week.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/XBYXPnZL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-11T14:45:54.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XBYXPnZL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3757668/jeremy-clarkson-fired-top-gear/","duration":"PT1M57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3757668/jeremy-clarkson-fired-top-gear/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```