Jeremy Clarkson must feature in the worst nightmares of the trendy liberals that run the BBC. He’s intelligent, articulate and hugely popular, but not politically correct. Whether he’s right or wrong in what he says doesn’t matter. From what I’ve heard of his TV appearances, he comes across shallow and missing the point 75% of the time. He’s written books and a column in the Sun “Newspaper”, which may turn out to pander less to the need to entertain; I don’t know because I can’t be bothered to read them.
I hear more about Mr Clarkson from the news media, where there appears to be a vendetta against him based on the notion that he says things which, while part of English society for over a century, are no longer politically correct. They’re lambasting him for treading on cracks in the pavement.
The latest row seems to be about him losing his temper after a stressful day’s filming. This isn’t a good thing, but it’s part of life. If he was a celebrity chef, such behaviour would be encouraged.
We should really be sharing a thought for the poor producer on the receiving end of the self-important star’s bad mood and abuse: Oisin Tymon. He appears to have taken the matter professionally, in his stride. He’s working in an industry containing celebrities with arge egos placed in stressful situations, and what little information there is in the public domain, it appears he’s taken the incident on the chin (literally, by some accounts) and just got on with it.
Unfortunately, it’s given Danny Cohen, the BBC Director of Television, the perfect excuse to over-react. Or so he seems to think. It’s clearly being used as an opportunity to silence a voice that doesn’t fit with their left-wing, liberal agenda. I’ve no problem with a left-wing agenda, as long as it’s balanced. The BBC is paid for by society as a whole, and has no business censoring someone who reflects the views of that society, whether they reflect their views or not.
Whether Mr Cohen is pandering to the views of his colleagues is something I can’t tell. There are calls for the wonder-boy of British Television to go instead of Clarkson. One thing’s for sure; there’s always Noreena sitting over the breakfast table to keep him on the one true path. Her published works leave no doubt as to her political and philosophical leanings.
As I believe in hearing all views from our “uniquely funded” state broadcaster, I have no choice but to take a stand in defence of the oaf. Guido Fawkes started a petition, and I notice it has almost reached a million supporters. Sign it here.