Jeremy Clarkson is fighting to stay on the telly amid the ongoing fallout over his “hateful” column about Meghan Markle with both Amazon and ITV hinting at dropping the former Top Gear star.
On Tuesday, shortly after Clarkson issued a grovelling apology to the Duchess of Sussex over his December article, it was reported that Amazon Prime Video had parted ways with the 62-year-old.
According to Variety, the streaming service won’t be working with the TV personality beyond seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm that have already been commissioned. So, Clarkson may not be appearing in any new shows on Prime Video beyond 2024.
Now, according to MailOnline, ITV bosses have said they have no “commitments” to further editions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? – fronted by Clarkson – beyond the upcoming, already-commissioned series.
The Mail said that while one director insisted in December that Clarkson – thought to earn around £3million per year from the quiz show – had not been sacked over his remarks “at the moment”, the recording of Millionaire celebrity specials was pushed back last week due to “scheduling issues”.
Bosses at the broadcaster told the Mail they were not offering any comment at this time but a spokesperson told the publisher that the network has “a further series contractually commissioned and due to film”, but adding that there was “no further commissioning commitments beyond that currently”.
It is not clear if any other projects of Clarkson have been jeopardised by the controversy.
Late Tuesday, Meghan and Harry dismissed Clarkson’s apology, saying there was a “pattern” in the presenter’s writing, which features “hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny”.
“While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny”, it read.
The Mail further reported that on Monday night, a virtual press conference to promote the second season of Clarkson’s Farm was cancelled by Amazon at the last-minute, although the series will still be available for streaming from February 10.
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