Cockup on the catering front

The papers over the past week have been dominated by the latest exploits to besmirch the BBC's flagship motoring programme 'Top Gear'. A programme in which 3 middle-aged petrolheads get to play with insanely expensive, fast cars and live out their teenage fantasies by undertaking puerile stunts in exotic locations.

In the latest escapade to hit the headlines Jeremy Clarkson was involved in 'a fracas with a producer' at a North Yorkshire hotel, where the crew had been filming for the latest series.

This may be seen as another welcome opportunity for the BBC bashers to mount an assault on the corporation though I would prefer to view it as a welcome distraction of budget leaks and the preliminary jousting in the run up to the election.

According to witnesses at the North Yorkshire hotel Jeremy Clarkson launched into an expletive-ridden tirade against programme assistant-producer, Oisin Tymon, in which punches were thrown. It would seem that the trigger for the dust-up came when it was learned that there was no hot food prepared for the team upon their returned from a day's filming in Newcastle. To Jeremy's credit he did take the initiative and inform his bosses of the incident but given his previous history of bad behaviour the BBC found they had little option but to suspend him pending an inquiry.

Not only has his suspension been raised in the House of Commons but there is a 900,000+ names petition calling from the BBC to re-instate the 54 year-old.

The Top Gear programme is worth an estimated £50m thanks to the show and DVD rights which presents the BBC, who own the rights to the programme, with something of a dilemma. Rumour is that he set to walk away from the BBC, to set up a similar programme with a rival broadcaster.

In most walks of life throwing a punch at a fellow worker is a disciplinary offence, if not grounds for instant dismissal for gross misconduct.

Equally, you don't need to be boardroom material to know that it is wrong to reprimand a colleague in public.

Maybe there had been a 'cockup on the catering front' but publicly lambasting the person delegated responsibility for such arrangements will not get you a hearty meal any quicker. Perhaps if he had channeled his frustration into finding an alternative eaterie then all this stupidity could have been avoided.

In the words of the Chinese proverb 'Hungry man who stands in field with mouth open must wait many moons for Peking duck to fly in'.

In one aspect I do have a certain sympathy for Jeremy Clarkson; whatever medication the observer who compared this latest indiscretion to the Jimmy Savile scandal is on should have it removed post haste as it is clearly is not working. About the only thing that these 2 stories have in common is that they are both embarrassing to the BBC.

For all the corporations faults it remains one of the greatest shop windows for creative talent. To be part of a successful show opens the doors to so many other opportunities – book deals, merchandising, repeat fees, guest appearances and future projects, to name but a few. There are few companies or other professions that offer such rewards or allow their employees to pursue their own career path with such diversity.

To work for any broadcaster is a privilege that should be treated with respect. History is littered with 'stars' who considered their individual contribution to be greater than the needs of their employer and have paid the price for their behaviour.

There is talk that there could be no Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson – You mean, just as there could be no 'Strictly' or 'Generation Game' without Bruce Forsyth or no 'Have I got news for you' without Angus Deayton – rest assured, no star is bigger than the show, in the same way that no footballer is bigger than the club they play for. Performers may have a valid reason for leaving a successful show but to have to leave a show because of unsavoury behaviour, having worked so hard to achieve that success is sheer lunacy.

Jeremy Clarkson is no fool and should be well aware that he has crossed the line on this occasion. Would he have become the multimillionaire he is without the exposure presented to him by the BBC, I very much doubt it. Will other stations welcome him? Almost certainly, he is still a big draw, some may even see his 'edginess' as a benefit to a programme. 

 

He may have wanted some humble pie on the night, he may not get a chance to eat it at this stage. If it all does go wrong for him he could always go and work for Dave, they may well have big gaps in their schedules to fill, then they may just as easily fill them with repeats of their repeats.