Jeremy Clarkson

Just a thought – wasn't Mr Clarkson given his last warning a while ago?

May and Hammond call Clarkson Jennifer sometimes. I've forgotten why, but diva-ishness would seem like a good reason. If diva is used of enough men behaving in a diva-ish way for long enough, will it become gender-free? Is this something we should be aiming at?

JessM I see what you mean and if an incident involving an alleged assault occurred entirely within a workplace then the only witnesses available would normally be fellow workers. However, this incident occurred in a public arena and as such I would have thought it would be sensible to ask members of the public who had witnessed the incident if they would be willing to give a statement.

Otherwise it would presumably be a case of deciding whether JC or the (perhaps reticent) producer is giving a full and accurate account of what happened.

Oh, I can't get the hang of these asterisks. You'll all have to guess. It's the C word.

cn

I read he called the colleague an Irish c* and threatened to have him sacked.

Surely that is racist? Or even sexist!

I would say that constitutes more that diva-ish behaviour.

Hey jess maybe the masculine version of a diva should be a "Jeremy"!

As I said I don't care for the man but I have just read his column in The Sunday Times and it was a very amusing account of his attempts to cook a Vietnamese Po.

*diva( therefore sexist language - women are labelled as divas and men as ...?
The BBC enquiry will take time but in a personnel type disciplinary enquiry it would be very unusual to look for statements from non-employees. It is not a court. The hotel employees would be free to write in a letter of complaint to the BBC if they wanted to.

In one of the papers yesterday - I think it was the Guardian - people at the hotel who had witnessed the incident said that they had not been asked by the BBC to give statements as to what they saw. I don't know if it is just early days and they will be approached to give their accounts in due course but, if not, I find that odd.

Yes - DC should keep out of it. He does not know the details either; and it is an internal disciplinary matter for the Beeb.

I don't think its a matter of "rich and powerful" more a case of Jeremy's "diva" ish behaviour which has been around since celebrity emerged ass a concept. Divas are usually female though!

I hate the way that the rich and powerful in this country, are somehow becoming ever more rich and powerful.

I am still annoyed that DC said anything at all. Not his place in these circumstances.

GrannyTwice - good idea. I'm sure DD WOULD have explained DGS why JC was shown the red card - DGS would certainly have asked. It is clearly a good opportunity to teach children how to behave towards other people and why they should do so. What happens, though, when the Beeb decides to forgive and forget and JC appears on our screens again (if we don't use the remote quickly enough)? I suppose DD could then explain that JC had spent enough time on the naughty step and was now forgiven.

Yes Eloethan there are a lot of people "working" in all kinds of settings who do not have a secure contract of employment. Many of the new jobs that have been created in recent years are like this. I am not just talking about a checkout assistant on a zero hours contract. In some careers, particular arts- or media-related people spend years on internships (often completely unpaid), self-employed contracts, part time roles and working for agencies. Oh an running around doing voluntary stuff to beef up your CV. There are just too many people chasing these jobs and employers take advantage. They are very vulnerable.
I have a young relative who has a degree and a master's in curating - it has taken her 3 years to get a full time job in the museums sector and there is an awful lot of "admin" in the job description.
As to the length of time it is taking to investigate, this is nothing. Take a look at the length of time a hospital consultant can be suspended on full pay before a disciplinary issue is resolved. Can run into years.

Am not surprised to hear about Davina and Ben. However, producers must know how precarious a job it is. If they can't stand the heat etc.....
Actually I bet Jeremy Clarkson is pretty appalled at what has happened. There's more to him than the cartoonish presentation on Top Gear.

It has been pointed out that the producer involved in this incident had not made a complaint either to the BBC or to the police. An article in The I yesterday written by a female TV producer, gave some insight into the world of broadcasting and perhaps threw some light on why a producer might be reluctant to initiate a complaint:

"We all talk about the abuse, we hand each other tissues, threaten to quit - and then worry about paying our bills. You see, we are nearly all freelance. As a series producer, I'm lucky. I'm paid well and my contracts are generally long. But the average contracts for assistant producers are about 12 weeks."

It seems therefore that many producers are part of the ever-growing band of workers whose employment status is precarious and who might be committing "career suicide" by pursuing a complaint against people in powerful positions.

I wonder if those that have signed a petition in support of JC would find it acceptable if they were being verbally and/or physically abused by their own managers.

It was heartening to read that whilst there are reportedly several presenters who are self-centred bullies, the article's writer named two presenters who behave properly towards their production colleagues and go out of their way to offer assistance - Ben Fogle and Davina McCall.

Now I can't say I am surprised at all that some supporters of JC appear to be the sort of people who send hate mail to the person who was allegedly assaulted by him.

Well Ana we all know the answer to that don't we? I'm still amazed it's taking so long to investigate - I mean how hard is it? The time gap is just allowing more and more speculation and that doesn't help anyone. The hatred being vented at the producer is truly amazing

Just had a look at tomorrow's newspapers' front pages, one of which is claiming that the producer involved in the 'fracas' has received hate mail and death threats and fears his career is over.

I wonder whether JC's at all concerned about the unforeseen consequences of his hissy-fit on other people?

Well perhaps your dd could explain why he'd been shown the red card. There's a lesson in that isn't there about bullying, entitlement, foul language which is a bit more serious than a 'red card'

I don't like JC either but I only saw TG once and that was while I was on a ferry. I remember thinking he actually did a very good job as a presenter, very professional. He must have a lot of fans. When my DD told DGS, aged 5, that JC had 'been shown the red card' and would no longer be on TV he was very upset!

Definitely not interested!

Moi non plus !

Nor me