Jeremy Clarkson: Amazon Prime star responds to fan suggesting he buy Top Gear TV rights if BBC show is axed

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Jeremy Clarkson has responded after a fan asked the former presenter if he’d buy the rights to Top Gear should BBC axe the show

Jeremy Clarkson has denied the idea that he would buy the rights to Top Gear, the show he previously presented, should the BBC decide to axe it. The suggestion came from a fan after a BBC executive said it would be “really inappropriate” to return to filming the show while current host Freddie Flintoff is recovering from an accident.

A BBC spokesperson said at the time: "We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery. We understand this [halting the show] will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year."

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In a recent column, Clarkson, whose face is probably most synonymous with the long-running car show, wrote that Top Gear “has to be saved” after rumours of the show’s cancellation started spreading. The rumours have also seen fans hope that the show’s original trio Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May would return.

One fan took to Twitter to ask: "@JeremyClarkson @RichardHammond @MrJamesMay.

"Now that Top Gear is cancelled, is there a chance you can buy the naming rights and maybe return as a trio??? please.. pretty please?"

The trio presented Top Gear from 2002 (May joined in 2003) until 2015, when Clarkson was sacked by the BBC. The sacking saw Hammond and May resign and the trio created their new show The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video, which very much follows the same formula.

Jeremy Clarkson co-hosted the most iconic years of Top Gear between 2002 and 2015 with colleagues James May and Richard Hammond.Jeremy Clarkson co-hosted the most iconic years of Top Gear between 2002 and 2015 with colleagues James May and Richard Hammond.
Jeremy Clarkson co-hosted the most iconic years of Top Gear between 2002 and 2015 with colleagues James May and Richard Hammond. | Getty Images

The idea of Clarkson acquiring the naming rights to his old show was however shut down quickly as the former presenter replied: “Er. We never went away. The three of us are still very much at it.”

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