‘No place on ITV’: Jeremy Clarkson’s Meghan Markle column condemned by broadcaster’s CEO

Clarkson received widespread backlash last month after writing that he hated the Duchess of Sussex ‘on a cellular level’

A letter from ITV’s CEO, responding to a call for Jeremy Clarkson to be removed from the channel, has stated that the presenter’s views are not shared by the broadcaster.

John Nicolson, SNP shadow culture secretary and MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, wrote to ITV chief Carolyn McCall in December, after the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host published a column expressing his opinion on Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

In an op-ed for The Sun, Clarkson wrote that he dreamt of the day Markle would be made to parade naked through Britain while the crowd chanted “shame” and threw “excrement” at her.

The piece was widely criticised and Clarkson issued a public apology to the couple earlier this week.

Nicolson’s letter called Clarkson’s words “grotesque” and demanded that he was no longer featured on the channel.

Now, McCall’s response to Nicolson has been shared publicly. She states that Clarkson’s comments are not representative of ITV’s views.

The letter, published by Deadline on Wednesday (18 January), reads: “Everyone at ITV is very aware of our responsibilities as a Public Service Broadcaster and I’d like to be clear that the comments made were Jeremy Clarkson’s own and are in no way endorsed by ITV. There is no place on ITV for the comments made in that article.

“It is also worth adding that Jeremy Clarkson is not an ITV employee and that when he appears on ITV it is as a quiz show host on a show which does not provide a platform for his opinions.”

In December, Kevin Lygo, ITV’s director of television, said that Clarkson would remain the host of Millionaire “for the moment”.

However, his future on ITV has come into question after recent reports emerged of Amazon Studios having plans to ‘cut ties’ with the presenter.

He currently has the programmes The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm on the platform. Reports claim that Amazon has no plans to work with him beyond the episodes already commissioned.