Top Gear: A vehicle for controversy?
Top Gear is one of the BBC's most popular and profitable series, but it has a history of controversy.
The close-to-the-knuckle humour and high-octane stunts are all part of the attraction to the show's 6.5 million viewers.
But it has also landed in hot water for a series of inappropriate comments, misfiring stunts and production errors.
Here are some of the show's more contentious moments.
Accusations of racism
The latest Top Gear controversy has been triggeredby Jeremy Clarkson's apparent use of the "n-word" in a clip filmed in 2012.
Although it was never broadcast, the Mirror newspaper got hold of the segment, in which the presenter chooses between different models of car by reciting the schoolyard rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.
Clarkson mumbles the offensive word, but has since admitted it appears to pass his lips. "I was mortified by this, horrified. It was a word I loathe," he said in a video statement.
The BBC has reprimanded its presenter - but it is not the first time Top Gear has been accused of casual racism.
Jeremy Clarkson with his modified Jaguar XJS in 2012's India special
India's High Commission took offence at a special episode, which made jokes about the country's food and culture.
Showing off a customised Jaguar, complete with a toilet in the back seat, Clarkson said: "This is perfect for India because everyone who comes here gets the trots."
An earlier episode caused a similar diplomatic incident in Mexico.
Co-host Richard Hammond said Mexican cars reflected national characteristics - saying they were like a "lazy, feckless, flatulent oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat".
Apologies were also made for an episode broadcast this March, in which Clarkson used the word "slope" as an Asian man crossed a newly built bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand.
Motor industry woes
Top Gear began as a local show on BBC Midlands in 1977, presenting an uncomplicated look at motor cars and road safety issues.
But Clarkson's appointment in 1988 heralded a newly-abrasive reviewing style that could make or break a new car.
It made him the scourge of the motor industry.
The host claimed he would "rather have bird flu" than a Corvette Z06. When he described the Toyota Corolla as "dull", the company banned him from test-driving their cars.
A review of Vauxhall's Mark One Vectra, in which Clarkson remained mute and drummed his fingers on the roof of the car for a full minute, was blamed by some for the closure of the company's plant in Luton.
Clarkson has been a mainstay of the show since 1988, apart from a three-year break from 1999 - 2002
In 2008, Tesla tried to sue the show for libel, after Clarkson said its £92,000 electric sports car did not perform as advertised.
"Although Tesla say it will do 200 miles, we worked out that on our track it would run out after just 55 miles," Clarkson said. "And if it does run out, it is not a quick job to charge it up again."
When the case was dismissed, after five years and one appeal, executive producer Andy Wilman said: "I'd also like to apologise to the judges for making them have to watch so much Top Gear."
Angry lorry drivers
Jeremy Clarkson found himself in trouble in 2008, when he compared lorry drivers to murderers.
As he completed a lorry-driving task, Clarkson said: "This is a hard job - and I'm not just saying that to win favour with lorry drivers, it's a hard job.
"Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That's a lot of effort in a day."
His comments came shortly after forklift truck driver Steve Wright was jailed for killing five prostitutes in Ipswich.
The BBC received 1,800 complaints, but Ofcom cleared Clarkson of breaking broadcast codes.
"Ofcom did not believe the intention of the comments could be seen to imply that all lorry drivers murder prostitutes, nor would it be reasonable to make such an inference," it said.
"In Ofcom's view, the presenter was clearly using exaggeration to make a joke, albeit not to everyone's taste."
Volkswagen owners
The team were not fans of the Scirocco TDI
At the end of the 13th series, Top Gear's presenters set about creating an advert for the Volkswagen Scirocco TDI, a car they hated because of its diesel engine.
"It's a pretty car but what they've done is put the engine from a canal boat in it," Clarkson said.
The finished advert showed a Volkswagen owner shooting himself in the head because he'd failed to buy diesel.
The BBC argued that the advert, shown before the 21:00 watershed on 2 August, was "ludicrous and obviously comic".
But Ofcom ruledthe suicide was "graphically depicted", "potentially disturbing" and not editorially justified.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for News Updates
The close-to-the-knuckle humour and high-octane stunts are all part of the attraction to the show's 6.5 million viewers.
But it has also landed in hot water for a series of inappropriate comments, misfiring stunts and production errors.
Here are some of the show's more contentious moments.
Accusations of racism
The latest Top Gear controversy has been triggeredby Jeremy Clarkson's apparent use of the "n-word" in a clip filmed in 2012.
Although it was never broadcast, the Mirror newspaper got hold of the segment, in which the presenter chooses between different models of car by reciting the schoolyard rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.
Clarkson mumbles the offensive word, but has since admitted it appears to pass his lips. "I was mortified by this, horrified. It was a word I loathe," he said in a video statement.
The BBC has reprimanded its presenter - but it is not the first time Top Gear has been accused of casual racism.
Jeremy Clarkson with his modified Jaguar XJS in 2012's India special
India's High Commission took offence at a special episode, which made jokes about the country's food and culture.
Showing off a customised Jaguar, complete with a toilet in the back seat, Clarkson said: "This is perfect for India because everyone who comes here gets the trots."
An earlier episode caused a similar diplomatic incident in Mexico.
Co-host Richard Hammond said Mexican cars reflected national characteristics - saying they were like a "lazy, feckless, flatulent oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat".
Apologies were also made for an episode broadcast this March, in which Clarkson used the word "slope" as an Asian man crossed a newly built bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand.
Motor industry woes
Top Gear began as a local show on BBC Midlands in 1977, presenting an uncomplicated look at motor cars and road safety issues.
But Clarkson's appointment in 1988 heralded a newly-abrasive reviewing style that could make or break a new car.
It made him the scourge of the motor industry.
The host claimed he would "rather have bird flu" than a Corvette Z06. When he described the Toyota Corolla as "dull", the company banned him from test-driving their cars.
A review of Vauxhall's Mark One Vectra, in which Clarkson remained mute and drummed his fingers on the roof of the car for a full minute, was blamed by some for the closure of the company's plant in Luton.
Clarkson has been a mainstay of the show since 1988, apart from a three-year break from 1999 - 2002
In 2008, Tesla tried to sue the show for libel, after Clarkson said its £92,000 electric sports car did not perform as advertised.
"Although Tesla say it will do 200 miles, we worked out that on our track it would run out after just 55 miles," Clarkson said. "And if it does run out, it is not a quick job to charge it up again."
When the case was dismissed, after five years and one appeal, executive producer Andy Wilman said: "I'd also like to apologise to the judges for making them have to watch so much Top Gear."
Angry lorry drivers
Jeremy Clarkson found himself in trouble in 2008, when he compared lorry drivers to murderers.
As he completed a lorry-driving task, Clarkson said: "This is a hard job - and I'm not just saying that to win favour with lorry drivers, it's a hard job.
"Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That's a lot of effort in a day."
His comments came shortly after forklift truck driver Steve Wright was jailed for killing five prostitutes in Ipswich.
The BBC received 1,800 complaints, but Ofcom cleared Clarkson of breaking broadcast codes.
"Ofcom did not believe the intention of the comments could be seen to imply that all lorry drivers murder prostitutes, nor would it be reasonable to make such an inference," it said.
"In Ofcom's view, the presenter was clearly using exaggeration to make a joke, albeit not to everyone's taste."
Volkswagen owners
The team were not fans of the Scirocco TDI
At the end of the 13th series, Top Gear's presenters set about creating an advert for the Volkswagen Scirocco TDI, a car they hated because of its diesel engine.
"It's a pretty car but what they've done is put the engine from a canal boat in it," Clarkson said.
The finished advert showed a Volkswagen owner shooting himself in the head because he'd failed to buy diesel.
The BBC argued that the advert, shown before the 21:00 watershed on 2 August, was "ludicrous and obviously comic".
But Ofcom ruledthe suicide was "graphically depicted", "potentially disturbing" and not editorially justified.
Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for News Updates
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