Jeremy Clarkson to remain Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host for ‘the moment’
The presenter hit headlines over the weekend for comments he made about the Duchess of Sussex in a column for The Sun.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ITV boss Kevin Lygo said Jeremy Clarkson’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex were “awful” but “at the moment” the broadcaster plans to keep him as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
In a recent column for The Sun newspaper, Clarkson, 62, said he feels “hate” for Meghan and dreams of seeing her publicly humiliated.
Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild event in London on Tuesday, Mr Lygo, managing director of ITV Studios, said: “I would say what he writes in a newspaper column… We have no control over what he says.
“We hire him as a consummate broadcaster of the most famous quiz on television, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
“So it’s not quite in our wheelhouse but I don’t know what he was thinking when he wrote that. It was awful.”
Asked if ITV will keep Clarkson as host of the quiz show, a position he inherited from Chris Tarrant in 2018, Mr Lygo said: “Yes, at the moment we are.”
Asked if Clarkson represents ITV’s values, Mr Lygo replied: “No, of course he doesn’t in that instance.”
On Monday, Clarkson responded to the controversy, writing on Twitter: “Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it.
“In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people.
“I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.”
The piece was removed from The Sun’s website on Monday at Clarkson’s request.
On Tuesday morning, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) said Clarkson’s newspaper column has become its most complained about article.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.