Jeremy Clarkson backlash as stars pull out of ITV show after Meghan comments

2023-02-03

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Three female stars have reportedly pulled out of a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after making it "very loud and clear" they did not want to be on TV with Jeremy Clarkson.

They were due to appear on a charity special series of the ITV quiz show hosted by the motormouth, 62, after he made disgusting comments about Meghan Markle.

Filming was postponed this month with the official line that it was on hold due to "scheduling issues".

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson admits he loves when Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? players lose

But behind the scenes of the ITV show there was chaos as stars started backing out over fears that their charity causes might be caught in a furore.

A source told Mirror: "ITV were left with no choice but to postpone the show.

"The feelings were made very loud, and very clear. Namely that they didn’t want to share a platform with Clarkson and, in doing so, risk being seen to legitimise his misogynistic comments.

"They were appearing on the show to raise money for charity, and they were acutely aware that they didn’t want causes special to their heart to be caught up in any backlash. It was a no-brainer to be honest, they had to walk away."

ITV declined to comment on the female stars pulling out.

The regular version of the hit show is due to filmed this month.

ITV sources say that while they are contractually commissioned to go ahead with it, there are "no further commissioning commitments".

Clarkson has hosted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? since 2018, taking over the role from original host Chris Tarrant.

A petition calling on ITV CEO Carolyn McCall for him to keep his job as presenter has attracted 60,000 signatures.

He provoked fury by saying in a newspaper column that he wanted the Duchess of Sussex to be "paraded naked through the streets" and "dreams of people throwing excrement at her".

Clarkson added he hated Prince Harry's wife "on a cellular level".

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The columnist later revealed he had said sorry to Harry and Meghan and emailed the Sussexes to apologise on Christmas Day.

However, a spokesman later said Clarkson had only sent the email to Harry.

The BBC fired him in 2015 for attacking a male Top Gear producer.

According to reports, Amazon will stop working with him on The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm after next year when his deal ends.

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Jeremy Clarkson

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