Controversy-courting television personality Jeremy Clarkson is returning to the BBC tonight, facing an onslaught of mockery as he hosts the latest episode of the famously unforgiving panel show, Have I Got News For You.
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Clarkson was forced to pull out of the last series following the furore over his altercation with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon, which led to his leaving the corporation.
The Have I Got News For You appearance will be Clarkson’s first return to the BBC since his departure, and signals the start of the show’s 50th series.
Unfortunately, the nature of this particular show is to mock the hell out of current affairs, making Clarkson a prime target for the butt of most of the evening’s jokes.
Encountering a sound problem during filming, Osman told him: “This wouldn’t happen on Amazon Prime”. When asked if he regretted the bust up, he said: “Yeah – apart from the pay rise”.
Clarkson did not reply to the barb, which was one of many from Osman, who quickly became a favourite among viewers from Twitter.
“To make my new motoring show, I have set up a production company that needs to buy a base”. “I used to be Jeremy Clarkson“. What are they going to do? I’ve just thought of that – they can’t, can they?
But Clarkson appears to take it in good fun.
Clarkson took it in his stride as he received a verbal pummelling from Hislop and Merton during filming yesterday, along with comedian Richard Osman and journalist Camilla Long, the Radio Times said.
At one point, Merton fell off his chair punching himself, and a joke about new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was twisted into a remark about Clarkson by Hislop, who said: “A man called Jeremy who has extreme views and won’t be in a job for long”.
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At the recording, when Clarkson tripped over a line and snapped “oh f*** off” as he was teased, Paul Merton retorts with ‘don’t punch me!’
