Use the following highlights to write an article:

A senior BBC TV executive has launched an attack on Jeremy Clarkson.
The executive said: 'Jeremy's self destructing... and should go into rehab'
They claimed: 'Look what PM says... then swap 'Clarkson' for 'Savile'
They added: 'The pressure on [Top Gear producer] is Savilesque'
Jeremy Clarkson, pictured, has been compared to Jimmy Savile by a senior BBC manager in advance of a probe into the latest Top Gear incident. The BBC launched an astonishing attack on Jeremy Clarkson yesterday, comparing him to sex offender Jimmy Savile and urging him to check into rehab. Blaming the now notorious ‘fracas’ with a Top Gear producer on ‘personal issues’, one of the most senior Corporation executives said Clarkson was ‘self-destructing’ and needed help. Most controversially, the TV chief, who has been directly involved in the fallout from the incident, likened Clarkson’s supporters – including the Prime Minister – to those who turned a blind eye to Savile’s appalling crimes. Last night, friends of the 54-year-old presenter expressed disbelief that the BBC should make such explosive claims before its internal investigation into the controversy has even begun. ‘I am in total shock that someone at the BBC would attack their own talent and deliberately smear Jeremy,’ said Perry McCarthy, who was Top Gear’s mysterious test driver The Stig. The broadside came as further details of the alleged assault on producer Oisin Tymon emerged. One report claimed Clarkson split Tymon’s lip with a punch, leaving him needing hospital treatment. Other sources told this newspaper that Clarkson had not been drinking – and that the row was not entirely about the lack of a hot meal at the end of a day’s filming. But the most astonishing development came during a wide-ranging official briefing given to The Mail on Sunday by a senior BBC figure. The executive likened 36-year-old Tymon’s position to that of Savile’s victims, who feared they would not be believed while he was alive. ‘The pressure this guy [Tymon] is under is so Savilesque in a way,’ he said, adding that Clarkson’s support from high-level politicians recalled the way Savile was once defended. ‘If you look at what David Cameron says or what [former Culture and Media Secretary] Maria Miller says and you swap Clarkson for Savile, you get this: David Cameron is effectively saying that Savile’s a real talent, Maria Miller saying Savile will be Savile.’ The comparison will inevitably anger Savile’s victims. Conservative MP Conor Burns, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said that ‘it is not just patently absurd, it’s also deeply offensive to Jeremy Clarkson and those innocent people who were horribly abused by Savile’. The BBC executive also said that attempts to suggest the ‘fracas’ was part of a wider battle between Clarkson and Danny Cohen, the BBC’s powerful director of television, were misleading. Clarkson is said to have a difficult relationship with Cohen, who told him that he was on a final warning after a string of controversies. ‘People keep saying that this is a case of Danny Cohen v Jeremy Clarkson. It is not,’ said the executive. ‘This is Jeremy Clarkson v Jeremy Clarkson…. ‘Jeremy is self-destructing. Danny is not the person who is driving this, it is Jeremy.’ Referring to the Top Gear host’s much-publicised split from his wife Frances after 21 years, the BBC chief added: ‘It is common knowledge he has personal issues; we have all read about them. ‘If I was advising him I would take one of two options. Do what he is doing now and continue to try to play it down – or I would go into rehab and show the world I am trying to change. ‘The BBC has stood by him before when he has been in hot water… But this is more serious.’ BBC Director of Television Danny Cohen, pictured, is said to have a difficult relationship with Jeremy Clarkson. The BBC producer involved in the 'fracas' with Jeremy Clarkson is privately terrified he is going to lose his job, sources claimed. Oisin Tymon has been working on the Top Gear franchise in various roles since 2005 and has also been an assistant producer on BBC One’s The One Show. But the 36-year-old has been in hiding all week, when it emerged he had been punched by the presenter. One insider close to his legal team at Slater and Gordon described Tymon as ‘mortified’. 'He is terrified that he might lose the job he loves and has been doing for the past six years. All he wants to do is to get back to work,' they told the Sunday Mirror. 'He is mortified by the whole thing.' BBC sources have claimed that Top Gear would survive without Clarkson as other shows – including Have I Got News For You and Strictly Come Dancing – have coped with the loss of a much-loved presenter. They added about Tymon: 'We would hope he will continue to be employed by the BBC after this matter is resolved.' Clarkson is being represented by law firm Olswang, which refused to comment. As the row intensified, sources in the Clarkson camp gave The Mail on Sunday what they say is the most definitive account yet of the events leading to the hotel incident. Contrary to what has been widely reported, they insisted the presenter had not been drinking beforehand – although co-presenter James May downed a bottle of white wine. Neither did Clarkson explode with anger at the hotel just because he couldn’t have an expensive steak. ‘Yes, it is true that there was no supper but he was angry because they didn’t have enough producers during the day and it made filming extremely difficult,’ said one source. Others close to the star – who has been suspended by the BBC – accurately predicted the Corporation would cast him as a man careering ‘off the rails’. Even so, the depth of the attack, and the personal nature of the comments, will surprise many – especially as, until now, the Corporation has been careful to limit its comments ahead of the inquiry. The executive’s comments drew a furious reaction from Clarkson supporters. Perry McCarthy added: ‘This will be a nightmare for Jeremy and he will feel deeply concerned that someone at the Corporation has spoken his name in the same sentence as that disgusting creature Jimmy Savile. ‘It is ill-conceived, as was the decision to suspend him and take Top Gear off the air. Jeremy is a brilliant broadcaster and a fantastic guy. ‘It’s atrocious that these idiots at the BBC are paid so much money but run it about as well as a three-year-old child.’ Clarkson is accused of punching TV producer Oisin Tymon, pictured, after a day's filming in Yorkshire. Clarkson, May and Richard Hammond had been filming in Surrey all day before the incident. They left at just after 6pm for a two-and-half-hour helicopter flight to the luxury Simonstone Hall hotel in the Yorkshire Dales. On board, May drank a bottle of wine, but Clarkson drank nothing as he had to work on a script later that evening. A senior BBC source has reportedly told people that Clarkson's much publicised split from his wife Frances, left, could be behind his melt-down. Filming had been fraught because of the shortage of producers and Clarkson was tired, annoyed and hungry, having had nothing to eat all day, the sources say. And it was against this background, that they arrived at the hotel to be told there was no hot supper. What happened next will have to be established by the BBC’s inquiry. It is not thought that Clarkson will dispute ranting at Tymon. But he is already said to deny calling him a ‘lazy Irish ****’. One account will claim the presenter went nose-to-nose with Tymon and said: ‘You’ll be on the dole tomorrow. ‘I’m going to make sure you will not have a job.’ The executive who briefed The Mail on Sunday said: ‘ [Tymon] could be in hospital because of this. ‘He is watching it all play out. Jeremy is a bit more used to it. I don’t think Jeremy has got the most to lose. ‘He has got the money to see him out through his days if he needs to. The other guy [Tymon] is just a jobbing producer.’ Insiders say the BBC – which holds the rights to the lucrative Top Gear format – is prepared to continue making the show even if it means getting a new presenter or presenters. They say other shows, such as Have I Got News For You, survived the departure of a host and there was no reason Top Gear could not do the same. Sources said the BBC remained the best place for a fearless motoring programme, because it was not beholden to advertisers. Yesterday Clarkson looked downcast as he left his West London apartment. He declined to comment but told journalists: ‘You must be freezing.’ The BBC claims that Top Gear will survive if Jeremy Clarkson, pictured, is no longer involved in the show. The BBC disciplinary panel will be led by Ken MacQuarrie, the head of BBC Scotland, who carried out the investigation into Newsnight’s false exposé of Lord McAlpine. Clarkson started the disciplinary process himself when he told his bosses at the BBC about the row. Meanwhile, a petition to reinstate Clarkson has gathered more than 920,000 signatures. The Prime Minister appeared to lend his support when he described Clarkson as a ‘friend’ and ‘huge talent’, adding that he hoped the situation could be resolved so his children would not be left ‘heartbroken’. Clarkson is scheduled to appear alongside May and Hammond at four live shows in Norway later this month. All three presenters’ contracts expire three days after the Norway gigs. The last three episodes of the series have been put on hold. Tonight’s show has been replaced with a documentary about the Red Arrows.
Använd följande höjdpunkter för att skriva en artikel: En senior BBC-TV-chef har inlett en attack mot Jeremy Clarkson. Chefen sa: "Jeremys självförstörande... och borde gå in på rehab" De hävdade: "Titta vad PM säger... Byt sedan 'Clarkson' mot 'Savile' De tillade: 'Trycket på [Top Gear-producenten] är Savilesque'
Use the following highlights to write an article: A senior BBC TV executive has launched an attack on Jeremy Clarkson. The boss said, "Jeremy's self-destruction... and should go into rehab" They claimed, "Look what the memo says... then trade 'Clarkson' for 'Savile' They added: 'The pressure on [Top Gear producer] is Savilesque'
Jeremy Clarkson, på bilden, har jämförts med Jimmy Savile av en senior BBC-chef i förväg inför en sond in i den senaste Top Gear-incidenten. BBC genomförde en häpnadsväckande attack mot Jeremy Clarkson igår, jämförde honom med sexförbrytaren Jimmy Savile och uppmanade honom att checka in på rehab. En av de mest framstående cheferna inom bolaget, Clarkson, klandrade den numera ökända ”fracas” med en Top Gear-producent i ”personliga frågor”, och sade att Clarkson var självförstörande och behövde hjälp. Mest kontroversiellt var att TV-chefen, som varit direkt inblandad i nedfallet från händelsen, liknade Clarksons anhängare – inklusive premiärministern – vid dem som blundade för Saviles skrämmande brott. I går kväll uttryckte vänner till den 54-årige presentatören tvivel om att BBC borde göra sådana explosiva anspråk innan dess interna utredning av kontroversen ens har börjat. – Jag är helt chockad över att någon på BBC skulle attackera sin egen talang och avsiktligt smutskasta Jeremy, sade Perry McCarthy, som var Top Gears mystiska testförare The Stig. Bredsidan kom när ytterligare detaljer om det påstådda angreppet på producenten Oisin Tymon framkom. En rapport hävdade att Clarkson delade Tymons läpp med ett slag, vilket gjorde att han behövde sjukhusvård. Andra källor berättade för denna tidning att Clarkson inte hade druckit – och att bråket inte helt handlade om bristen på en varm måltid i slutet av en dags filminspelning. Men den mest häpnadsväckande utvecklingen kom under en omfattande officiell genomgång som gavs till The Mail på söndag av en äldre BBC-figur. Den verkställande makten liknade den 36-årige Tymons ställning vid Saviles offers, som fruktade att de inte skulle tros medan han levde. – Trycket den här killen [Tymon] är under är så Savilesque på ett sätt, sade han och tillade att Clarksons stöd från politiker på hög nivå påminde om hur Savile en gång försvarades. – Om man tittar på vad David Cameron säger eller vad [tidigare kultur- och mediesekreterare] Maria Miller säger och man byter Clarkson mot Savile, så fattar man detta: David Cameron säger effektivt att Savile är en riktig talang, säger Maria Miller att Savile kommer att vara Savile. Jämförelsen kommer oundvikligen att reta Saviles offer. Konservative parlamentsledamoten Conor Burns, som sitter i kommittén för kultur, media och idrott, sade att ”det är inte bara helt absurt, det är också djupt kränkande för Jeremy Clarkson och de oskyldiga människor som blev fruktansvärt misshandlade av Savile”. BBC:s verkställande direktör sade också att försöken att antyda ”fracasen” var en del av en bredare strid mellan Clarkson och Danny Cohen, BBC:s mäktiga TV-chef, var vilseledande. Clarkson sägs ha en svår relation med Cohen, som berättade att han var på en sista varning efter en rad kontroverser. – Folk säger hela tiden att detta är ett fall av Danny Cohen mot Jeremy Clarkson. Det är det inte, sade den verkställande makten. ”Det här är Jeremy Clarkson mot Jeremy Clarkson.... ”Jeremy är självförstörande. Danny är inte den person som kör detta, det är Jeremy.” Med hänvisning till Top Gear värd mycket offentlig split från sin fru Frances efter 21 år, BBC chef tillade: "Det är allmänt känt att han har personliga problem; vi har alla läst om dem. – Om jag gav honom råd skulle jag välja ett av två alternativ. Gör vad han gör nu och fortsätt att försöka spela ner det – annars skulle jag gå in på rehab och visa världen jag försöker förändra. ”BBC har stått vid hans sida tidigare när han har varit i varmt vatten... Men det här är allvarligare.” BBC:s chef för Television Danny Cohen, på bilden, sägs ha en svår relation med Jeremy Clarkson. BBC-producenten som är inblandad i "fracas" med Jeremy Clarkson är privat livrädd att han kommer att förlora sitt jobb, hävdade källor. Oisin Tymon har arbetat med serien Top Gear i olika roller sedan 2005 och har även varit biträdande producent på BBC Ones The One Show. Men 36-åringen har gömt sig hela veckan, när det kom fram hade han blivit slagen av presentatören. En insider nära sitt juridiska team på Slater och Gordon beskrev Tymon som ”mortifierad”. Han är livrädd för att förlora jobbet han älskar och har gjort de senaste sex åren. Allt han vill göra är att återgå till arbetet, sa de till söndagsspegeln. "Han är förfärad av allt." BBC-källor har hävdat att Top Gear skulle överleva utan Clarkson som andra shower – bland annat Have I Got News For You och Strictly Come Dancing – har klarat förlusten av en mycket älskad presentatör. De tillade om Tymon: ”Vi hoppas att han kommer att fortsätta att vara anställd av BBC efter att denna fråga har lösts.” Clarkson representeras av advokatfirman Olswang, som vägrade kommentera. Allteftersom raden intensifierades gav källor i Clarksonlägret The Mail på söndagen vad de säger är den mest definitiva redogörelsen hittills för händelserna som ledde till hotellincidenten. Tvärtemot vad som har rapporterats i stor utsträckning, insisterade de på att presentatören inte hade druckit i förväg – även om medpresentatören James May hällde ner en flaska vitt vin. Clarkson exploderade inte heller av ilska på hotellet bara för att han inte kunde få en dyr stek. – Ja, det är sant att det inte blev någon kvällsmat men han var arg för att de inte hade tillräckligt med producenter på dagen och det gjorde filmandet oerhört svårt, sade en källa. Andra nära stjärnan – som har blivit avstängda av BBC – förutspådde exakt att Corporation skulle kasta honom som en man som karriärerar ”från rälsen”. Trots detta kommer attackens djup och kommentarernas personliga karaktär att förvåna många – särskilt som bolaget hittills har varit noga med att begränsa sina kommentarer inför undersökningen. Den verkställande ledningens kommentarer fick en ursinnig reaktion från Clarksons anhängare. Perry McCarthy tillade: ”Detta kommer att bli en mardröm för Jeremy och han kommer att känna sig djupt oroad över att någon på Corporation har talat hans namn i samma mening som den där vidriga varelsen Jimmy Savile. – Det är otänkbart, liksom beslutet att stänga av honom och ta bort Top Gear från luften. Jeremy är en lysande programledare och en fantastisk kille. – Det är fruktansvärt att dessa idioter på BBC får så mycket pengar men driver det om liksom ett treårigt barn. Clarkson anklagas för att ha slagit TV-producenten Oisin Tymon, på bild, efter en dags filminspelning i Yorkshire. Clarkson, May och Richard Hammond hade filmat i Surrey hela dagen innan händelsen. De åkte strax efter sex för en två och en halv timmes helikopterflygning till det lyxiga Simonstone Hall hotellet i Yorkshire Dales. Ombord drack May en flaska vin, men Clarkson drack ingenting då han fick arbeta på ett manus senare samma kväll. En äldre BBC-källa har enligt uppgift berättat för folk att Clarksons mycket omtalade splittring från sin fru Frances, lämnade, kan ligga bakom hans härdsmälta. Filmandet hade varit upprört på grund av bristen på producenter och Clarkson var trött, irriterad och hungrig, efter att ha haft ingenting att äta hela dagen, säger källorna. Och det var mot denna bakgrund, som de anlände till hotellet för att få veta att det inte fanns någon varm kvällsmat. Vad som sedan hände måste fastställas av BBC:s undersökning. Man tror inte att Clarkson kommer att bestrida rytande vid Tymon. Men han sägs redan förneka att han kallar honom ”lat irländsk ****”. Ett konto kommer att hävda presentatören gick nos-to-nose med Tymon och sade: "Du kommer att vara på dole i morgon. “Jag ska se till att du inte kommer att ha ett jobb.” Chefen som informerade The Mail på söndag sade: “”Tymon] kan vara på sjukhus på grund av detta. – Han ser på när allt går till slut. Jeremy är lite mer van vid det. Jag tror inte att Jeremy har det mesta att förlora. — Han har pengar att se honom ut genom sina dagar, om han behöver. Den andra killen [Tymon] är bara en jobbproducent.’ Insiders säger BBC – som innehar rättigheterna till den lukrativa Top Gear format – är beredd att fortsätta göra showen även om det innebär att få en ny presentatör eller presentatörer. De säger att andra shower, som Have I Got News For You, överlevde avresan av en värd och det fanns ingen anledning Top Gear inte kunde göra detsamma. Källor sade att BBC förblev den bästa platsen för ett orädda bilprogram, eftersom det inte var skyldig annonsörer. Igår såg Clarkson nedslagen ut när han lämnade sin lägenhet i västra London. Han avböjde att kommentera men sade till journalister: ”Du måste frysa.” BBC hävdar att Top Gear kommer att överleva om Jeremy Clarkson, på bilden, inte längre är inblandad i showen. BBC:s disciplinpanel kommer att ledas av Ken MacQuarrie, chefen för BBC Scotland, som genomförde utredningen av Newsnights falska exposé av Lord McAlpine. Clarkson startade disciplinprocessen själv när han berättade för sina chefer på BBC om bråket. Under tiden har en namninsamling för att återinsätta Clarkson samlat in mer än 920.000 underskrifter. Premiärministern verkade ge sitt stöd när han beskrev Clarkson som en ”vän” och ”huge talang”, och tillade att han hoppades att situationen skulle kunna lösas så att hans barn inte skulle lämnas ”hjärtasbrutna”. Clarkson är planerad att framträda vid sidan av May och Hammond på fyra liveshower i Norge senare denna månad. Alla tre presentatörernas kontrakt löper ut tre dagar efter Norges spelningar. Seriens tre sista avsnitt har lagts på is. Kvällens show har ersatts med en dokumentär om Red Arrows.
Jeremy Clarkson, in the picture, has been compared to Jimmy Savile by a senior BBC chief in advance of a probe into the latest Top Gear incident. The BBC conducted an astonishing attack on Jeremy Clarkson yesterday, comparing him to sex offender Jimmy Savile and urging him to check in to rehab. One of the most prominent executives of the company, Clarkson, blamed the now infamous ‘fracas' with a Top Gear producer on ‘personal issues', saying Clarkson was self-destructive and needed help. Most controversially, the television director, who had been directly involved in the fallout from the incident, likened Clarkson's supporters—including the Prime Minister—to those who closed their eyes to Savile's appalling crimes. Last night friends of the 54-year-old presenter expressed doubts that the BBC should make such explosive claims before its internal investigation into the controversy has even begun. “I am completely shocked that someone at the BBC would attack their own talent and deliberately smear Jeremy,” said Perry McCarthy, who was Top Gear’s mysterious test driver The Stig. The broadside came when further details of the alleged attack on producer Oisin Tymon emerged. A report claimed that Clarkson shared Tymon's lip with a blow, causing him to need hospital treatment. Other sources told this newspaper that Clarkson had not drunk – and that the fight was not entirely about the lack of a warm meal at the end of a day's filming. But the most astonishing development came during an extensive official briefing given to The Mail on Sunday by an older BBC figure. The executive power likened the position of the 36-year-old Tymon to that of Savile, who feared they would not be believed while he was alive. “The pressure this guy [Tymon] is under is so Savilesque in a way,” he said, adding that Clarkson’s support from high-level politicians was reminiscent of how Savile was once defended. “If you look at what David Cameron says or what [former cultural and media secretary] Maria Miller says and you trade Clarkson for Savile, you get this: David Cameron effectively says Savile is a real talent,” says Maria Miller that Savile will be Savile. The comparison will inevitably tease Savile’s victims. Conservative MP Conor Burns, who is on the Committee on Culture, the Media and Sport, said that 'it is not only completely absurd, it is also deeply offensive to Jeremy Clarkson and the innocent people who were horribly abused by Savile'. The BBC Executive Director also said that attempts to suggest the 'fracas' were part of a wider battle between Clarkson and Danny Cohen, the BBC's powerful television executive, were misleading. Clarkson is said to have a difficult relationship with Cohen, who told me he was on a final warning after a series of controversy. “People keep saying that this is a case of Danny Cohen against Jeremy Clarkson. It is not, said the executive. “This is Jeremy Clarkson versus Jeremy Clarkson.... "Jeremy is self-destructive. Danny is not the person running this, it’s Jeremy.” Referring to Top Gear worth very public split from his wife Frances after 21 years, the BBC chief added: “It’s widely known that he has personal problems; we’ve all read about them. “If I gave him advice, I would choose one of two options. Do what he does now and keep trying to play it down – otherwise I'd go into rehab and show the world I'm trying to change. “The BBC has stood by him before when he’s been in hot water... but this is more serious.” BBC director of Television Danny Cohen, in the picture, is said to have a difficult relationship with Jeremy Clarkson. The BBC producer involved in "fracas" with Jeremy Clarkson is privately terrified that he will lose his job, claimed sources. Oisin Tymon has worked on the Top Gear series in various roles since 2005 and has also been an associate producer on BBC One's The One Show. But the 36-year-old has been hiding all week, when it came out he had been beaten by the presenter. An insider close to his legal team at Slater and Gordon described Tymon as ‘mortified'. He's terrified of losing the job he loves and has been doing for the last six years. All he wants to do is get back to work, they told the Sunday mirror. "He's horrified by everything." BBC sources have claimed that Top Gear would survive without Clarkson as other shows—including Have I Got News For You and Strictly Come Dancing—have managed the loss of a much loved presenter. They added on Tymon: 'We hope he will continue to be employed by the BBC after this issue has been resolved'. Clarkson is represented by the law firm Olswang, which refused to comment. As the line intensified, sources in Clarkson Camp gave The Mail on Sunday what they say is the most definitive account to date of the events that led to the hotel incident. Contrary to much reported, they insisted that the presenter had not drunk in advance—although fellow presenter James May poured down a bottle of white wine. Clarkson also didn't explode out of anger at the hotel just because he couldn't get an expensive steak. “Yes, it’s true that there was no supper but he was angry because they didn’t have enough producers by day and that made filming extremely difficult,” said one source. Others near the star—who have been suspended by the BBC—predicted exactly that the Corporation would throw him as a man who careers ‘off the rails'. Nevertheless, the depth of the attack and the personal nature of the comments will surprise many – especially as the company has so far been careful to limit its comments prior to the investigation. The comments of the executive management received an furious reaction from Clarkson's supporters. Perry McCarthy added: "This will be a nightmare for Jeremy and he will feel deeply concerned that someone at the Corporation has spoken his name in the same sense as that disgusting creature Jimmy Savile. “It’s unthinkable, as is the decision to turn him off and remove Top Gear from the air. Jeremy's a brilliant host and a great guy. “It’s terrible that these idiots on the BBC receive so much money but run it around like a three-year-old child. Clarkson is accused of beating TV producer Oisin Tymon, on camera, after a day of filming in Yorkshire. Clarkson, May and Richard Hammond had filmed in Surrey all day before the incident. They left shortly after six for a two-and-a-half hour helicopter flight to the luxurious Simonstone Hall hotel in Yorkshire Dales. On board, May drank a bottle of wine, but Clarkson drank nothing as he had to work on a script later that night. An older BBC source has reportedly told people that Clarkson's much talked about split from his wife Frances, left, may be behind his meltdown. Filming had been upset due to the lack of producers and Clarkson was tired, irritated and hungry, having had nothing to eat all day, the sources say. And it was against this background that they arrived at the hotel to learn that there was no hot supper. What then happened had to be determined by the BBC investigation. It is not believed that Clarkson will contest roaring at Tymon. But he is already said to deny that he calls him ‘Lat Irish ****’. An account will claim the presenter went nose-to-nose with Tymon saying, "You'll be at the dole tomorrow. “I’ll make sure you won’t have a job.” The boss who informed The Mail on Sunday said: “”Tymon] may be in hospital because of this. He's watching when it all ends. Jeremy's a little more used to it. I don't think Jeremy has most of it to lose. — He has money to see him out through his days, if he needs to. The other guy [Tymon] is just a job producer.’ Insiders says the BBC – who holds the rights to the lucrative Top Gear format – is prepared to continue doing the show even if it means getting a new presenter or presenter. They say other shows, like Have I Got News For You, survived the departure of a host and there was no reason Top Gear could not do the same. Sources said the BBC remained the best place for a fearless car program, as it did not owe advertisers. Yesterday, Clarkson looked down when he left his apartment in West London. He declined to comment but said to journalists: “You must freeze.” The BBC claims that Top Gear will survive if Jeremy Clarkson, in the picture, is no longer involved in the show. The BBC disciplinary panel will be led by Ken MacQuarrie, the head of BBC Scotland, who conducted the investigation into Newsnight's fake exposé by Lord McAlpine. Clarkson started the disciplinary process himself when he told his executives at the BBC about the fight. Meanwhile, a petition to reinstate Clarkson has collected more than 920,000 signatures. The Prime Minister seemed to support him when he described Clarkson as a ‘friend' and ‘huge talent', adding that he hoped that the situation could be resolved so that his children would not be left ‘heartbroken'. Clarkson is scheduled to appear alongside May and Hammond on four live shows in Norway later this month. All three presenters' contracts expire three days after Norway's gigs. The final three episodes of the series have been put on hold. Tonight's show has been replaced with a documentary about the Red Arrows.