Jeremy Clarkson shuts down claim he’s been sacked from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Sabrina Barr

Published March 1, 2023 6:53pm Updated March 2, 2023 12:22am

This image and the information contained herein is strictly embargoed until 00.01 Tuesday 30th August 2022From Stellify MediaWho Wants To Be A Millionaire? on ITV and ITV HubPictured: Jeremy Clarkson.This photograph is (C) Stellify Media and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. Once made available by ITV plc Picture Desk, this photograph can be reproduced once only up until the transmission [TX] date and no reproduction fee will be charged. Any subsequent usage may incur a fee. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/termsFor further information please contact:iwona.karbowska@itv.com / 0207 157 3043 — The presenter isn’t going anywhere (Picture: Stellify Media/ITV)

Jeremy Clarkson has set the record straight on his Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? future after it was claimed that he was axed from the show.

It was recently alleged that the host’s time on the ITV programme had come to an end after the controversy that his hateful column about Meghan Markle sparked earlier this year.

This came in contrast to a report that the series would continue with the host, with head of ITV Carolyn McCall saying that Clarkson’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex – which he apologised for – were ‘in no way endorsed’ by the firm.

In a new post shared on Twitter, the 62-year-old assured his followers that he would be continuing in the role on WWTBAM?

‘So many kind messages about today’s reports. But relax. Lisa and I have not split up and I have not been sacked as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,’ he wrote.

Clarkson was also referring to the apparent rumour that he and his partner Lisa Hogan, who he’s been in a relationship with since 2017, had gone their separate ways.

The presenter has set the record straight (Picture: Twitter/@JeremyClarkson)

A spokesperson for ITV added: ‘As we have said for several weeks, ITV is contractually committed to a further series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (which has now been recorded.)

‘There are no further commissioning commitments beyond that currently as is typical with such shows where we make commissioning decisions on a series by series basis.

‘Therefore for the avoidance of doubt neither Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? nor Jeremy Clarkson have been cancelled.’

Clarkson has been at the helm of the gameshow since 2018, having been cast on a revamped version of the programme, after it was hosted by Chris Tarrant from 1998 to 2014.

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While speaking to Variety, McCall confirmed that ITV had contracted Clarkson for the next season of the programme.

However, no further commitments have been made with the TV personality as of yet, she explained.

‘We have a contract. We’re contracted to this [season], so we will do that. And then we have no future commitments. And we haven’t made any statements about that,’ she said.

Therefore, it could be that the upcoming season of WWTBAM? is Clarkson’s last, but we’re yet to find out for sure.

The publication questioned McCall on whether ITV could be in talks about continuing WWTBAM? in future, to which she reportedly shrugged, and Sony declined to comment.

The future of Clarkson’s career came into question earlier this year, when he published a vile column in The Sun about the Duchess of Sussex, which went on to become the most-complained-about-article ever at the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).

Clarkson received heavy backlash by the vitriolic, now-deleted column (Picture: Getty)

In the column, he wrote that he ‘hated’ Meghan on a ‘cellular level’, and ‘dreamt’ of her being ‘paraded’ through the streets with ‘excrement’ being thrown at her.

He later said that he was ‘profoundly sorry’, saying that he sent Meghan and Prince Harry an apology on Christmas Day – although it transpired that the apology had been sent solely to the Duke of Sussex, according to a spokesperson for the couple.

In his apology, Clarkson said of the backlash he received: ‘I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious.

‘Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me.’

Deals of the Day

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire airs on ITV and is available to watch on ITVX.

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