Jeremy Clarkson thanks Top Gear fans for support as BBC inquiry looms

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/13/bbc-apologises-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-inquiry

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Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson has thanked the hundreds of thousands of fans who have backed him after his suspension from the show.

More than 840,000 have people signed a petition demanding he keep his job after he was suspended following his “fracas” with producer Oisin Tymon.

Clarkson told the BBC News: “I am very grateful to everybody.”

The star’s comments came as more details emerged of the corporation’s inquiry into the “fracas”.

It emerged earlier on Friday that the BBC has not asked any staff from the luxury Yorkshire hotel who worked the night of the incident to give testimony to its investigation, led by BBC Scotland director Ken MacQuarrie.

Clarkson and Tymon are expected to give their version of events to the inquiry first thing next week.

However, the presenter will talk about the incident and his future for the first time in his column in the Sun on Saturday, it is understood.

Related: Jeremy Clarkson threatened to have Top Gear producer fired, witnesses claim

The BBC appears keen to keep its investigation restricted to corporation staff, despite holiday-makers and staff at the luxury Simonstone Hall in Hawes, North Yorkshire, witnessing the incident.

Robert Scott, the manager on duty the night of Clarkson’s altercation with Tymon, said there had been no contact from the BBC about the inquiry.

“I do not know the BBC’s processes, but I can say that I haven’t been asked to give any evidence or attend their inquiry, and neither have any of the staff here,” he said. “They probably just want to keep it among the cast and crew.”

Witnesses to the “fracas” involving Clarkson claimed that the presenter threatened to have a Top Gear producer fired during the incident.

Four members of the Ward family from Leeds were staying at Simonstone Hall and said that they were shocked at Clarkson’s expletive-laden outburst at Tymon.

“He [Clarkson] said he hadn’t done his job properly, it was ridiculous that there was nothing to eat – obviously there were lots of expletives in between all this – and that he would be losing his job, he would see to it that he would lose his job,” Sue Ward told Sky News.

Ms Ward added that she felt even if the producer was “really inept”, he should have been “told properly, in a proper manner”.

Denise Ward added: “Just the shock of how can someone be so rude. It was just the swearing and the length of time and this poor guy he was ripping into.”

Bob Ward said Clarkson and his co-presenters arrived at the hotel at about 9.30pm and refused a request to have his picture taken with him.

“I said ‘Any chance of a selfie Jeremy?’ and he said ‘No, not with the day I’ve had today’.”

Related: Noel Edmonds: BBC has shown ‘sheer incompetence’ over Jeremy Clarkson

Meanwhile, the BBC declined to give a figure on the number of complaints it has received about Top Gear being pulled from the schedules due to the ongoing investigation.

The BBC is to make a decision early next week about whether to cancel Top Gear live shows due to uncertainty about Jeremy Clarkson’s suspension.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, runs an annual global tour called Top Gear Live with the next event scheduled for Stavanger, Norway with four shows on 27-28 March.

The event is understood to be a sell-out, with as many as 25,000 to 30,000 tickets have sold, and the prospect of the stars of the Top Gear franchise not attending puts the event in jeopardy.

Clarkson has appeared at every Top Gear Live event the BBC has run, while James May and Richard Hammond appear at some shows, and if it can not be confirmed that he will attend the corporation will have to make fans aware and consider cancelling the event.

“At present the forthcoming shows (both UK and international) are set to run as scheduled,” said a spokesman for BBC Worldwide.

Phil Bowdery, president of touring at Live Nation, guaranteed that the British shows would run as planned.

“The show must go on,” he said. “The British shows will go ahead as billed with Jeremy Clarkson.”

• This article was amended on 13 March 2015 to remove incorrect references to a BBC apology