Jeremy Clarkson coming back to BBC, but not to Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson has been one of the most discussed automotive personalities in the world in recent weeks since his suspension from Top Gear and the BBC's decision not to renew the presenter's contract, but we definitely haven't seen the last on him on TV. In fact, Clarkson will make his return to the Beeb in just a few weeks, but the job won't have anything to do with cars. Instead, he will be guest host on the show Have I Got News For You on April 24.

At first glance, it certainly seems odd to have Clarkson hosting a program on the BBC just weeks after getting the boot by the network. However, a network spokesperson clarified things to BBC News, saying: "Jeremy's contract has not been renewed on Top Gear but he isn't banned from appearing on the BBC."

Have I Got News For You is a show that invites a panel of guests to make humorous observations about current events and politics. Clarkson has hosted there several times and actually had trouble once before. According to BBC News, while presenting in 2008, he threw a pen at a guest causing a cut to the person's face.

Given Clarkson's general inability to keep his mouth shut about anything that's even slightly controversial, his first return to hosting on the BBC should be rather interesting. It's hard to imagine Clarkson not making some comment about his predicament over the last few weeks... but we'll just have to wait and see.

UPDATE: It looks like Jezza is not returning to the BBC after all. At least not yet. The Mirror reports that Clarkson won't be on the April 24 broadcast of Have I Got New For You but will pick up hosting duties later this year, according to the managing director of the show's production company.

James May Won’t Do Top Gear Without Jeremy Clarkson

Right on the heels of the BBC’s announcement that the remaining episodes of Top Gear Season 22 will be aired sometime this year, co-host James May is coming out with a strong proclamation: He simply won’t return to the show without Jeremy Clarkson.

That’s what the BBC star and, apparently, weird-hat aficionado told The Guardian at length today, emphasizing that the show just wouldn’t be the same without Clarkson.

“Me and Hammond with a surrogate Jeremy is a non-starter, it just wouldn’t work,” May told The Guardian. “That would be lame, or ‘awks’ as young people say.

“It has to be the three of us. You can’t just put a surrogate Jeremy in and expect it to carry on. It would be forced. I don’t believe they would be stupid enough to try that.

“I don’t think you could carry on with two people and put someone in as the new Jeremy because they are not going to be the new Jeremy. That would be shortsighted and I don’t think it would work. Virtually impossible.

“It doesn’t mean I won’t go back, we may all go back in the future. It might just be we have a break from it. I don’t know.”

May’s comments highlight a fact about Clarkson’s dismissal that many seem to have overlooked during the unfolding fracas: While the star was suspended and production of the show was put on hold, Clarkson’s eventual dismissal was not an outright ban. The star’s contract, which ran out at the end of the current season, was simply not renewed, leaving open the possibility of Clarkson returning to the BBC.

“In the future when all this has blown over, there might be an opportunity for three of us to get back together on the BBC to do Top Gear or a car show of some sort,” May told The Guardian. “The BBC haven’t completely closed the door on Jeremy’s return. They’ve not banned him or fired him, only just not renewed his contract for the moment. It’s a subtle difference but an important one.”

We Will Get to See the Three Remaining Top Gear Episodes

After Jeremy Clarkson’s blowup that cost him his contract as Top Gear host and put the remainder of Season 22 on hold, one of the first things BBC officials promised was that the show would return. Now, the broadcast company is confirming that claim, vowing to air the rest of Season 22, and bring back a revamped version of the show next year.

That’s the word from Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC official tasked with finding Clarkson’s replacement. Shillinglaw confirmed that the un-aired episodes would appear on BBC2 as early as this summer, and at the latest by the end of 2015, The Guardian reports.

“Top Gear is a show that I love, I genuinely watch it, and I always have done,” Shillinglaw said. “There is no way I would not want the available material [...] to be seen by viewers.”

The unseen footage will require some creative editing, since there is not enough footage to make three full hour-long episodes. Clarkson’s suspension prevented the Top Gear crew from filming the live, in-studio portions of the remaining three episodes.

Shillinglaw also emphasized a nuanced point of Clarkson’s status with the BBC—one we reported during the unfolding of the “fracas,” but which may not have been widely noticed during the frenzy: Clarkson has not been barred from returning to the BBC.

“It is serious and unfortunate what happened, but there is no ban on Jeremy being on the BBC,” Shillinglaw said. “It’s a big deal what happened and Jeremy, as any human being would, needs some time out.”

See, Clarkson was suspended from filming during the investigation into his assault on producer Oisin Tymon, and his contract, which was set to expire at the end of Season 22, was not renewed. But that doesn’t prevent Clarkson from appearing on the BBC in the future—assuming Clarkson’s anger with the BBC has died down and he hasn’t accepted any competing offers.

For his part, Clarkson took to his Sunday Times column [subscription required] to explain what was going on in his world leading up to his assault on Tymon. As reported by Jalopnik, the column lays out the rocky month Clarkson had leading up to the incident, which he called his “most stressful day [...] in 27 years at the BBC.” His mother had passed away, his marriage was falling apart, and he’d gotten dire news from his physician:

Fortunately, Clarkson’s cancer scare turned out to be false. We still don’t know what will happen with Clarkson—or co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, both of whom are at least finding creative outlets for their boredom.

So, to recap: The rest of Top Gear Season 22 will air at some point; Season 23 will be produced but will probably look vastly different; and James May is actually a pretty decent cook.

Remaining Top Gear Episodes Airing "Within Weeks," Hammond & May Filmed Studio Scenes

After a report from April hinted that shelved Top Gear footage from Series 22 will air on TV, a British publication fuels the fire with a follow-up report. The remaining episodes of Top Gear Series 22 "will be screened within weeks – after Richard Hammond and James May secretly recorded the link." Exciting stuff.

Nicola Methven of The Mirror reports that the Top Gear presenters were spotted at the aircraft hangar studio at Dunsfold, where studio bits and interviews are filmed. For the first time since Jeremy Clarkson punched Oisin Tymon in the kisser, two-thirds of the Top Gear team finally fulfilled their contractual obligations for the 22nd season of the popular entertai... factual motoring show.

The footage filmed this week with Richard Hammond and James May will link the pre-recorded materials with Jeremy Clarkson. As for the screening of the final three episodes of Top Gear Series 22, the episodes will be compressed into two specials that will air "this summer." What that means is a lot of editing and two hours of final cut material instead of the original three hours.

A source close to the Top Gear production team told the publication: "Clearly, Clarkson’s absence was referenced but he was not there – not even as a cardboard cut-out. The films will be the last chance fans have to see him on Top Gear for a long time, possibly forever. It is ‘end of an era’ stuff."

From our point of view, this story holds water, and it's certain that season 22 is going to end on a sour note.

As we reported yesterday, Hammond and May were reportedly offered a truckload of money to continue hosting Top Gear for two or three more seasons. In the same story, we pointed out that the Hamster and Captain Slow are highly unlikely to abandon Clarkson because of the camaraderie, chemistry and respect that goes on between all three Top Gear presenters. They're mates and to hell with anything else.

Guests include Henry Cavill and Gary Lineker. In terms of reviews, there's a comparison between the Subaru WRX STi and Volkswagen Golf R and Clarkson reviewing a trio of luxurious limousines.

Challenges? The trio will go for a drive in the countryside in a Fiat 124 Spider, MGB GT, and Peugeot 304 Cabriolet. Last but not least, the Top Gear trio is challenged to purchase second-hand SUVs on the cheap and see who got the best deal in a series of "ambitious, but rubbish" challenges.