BBC Director General Tony Hall has handed down his final decision on "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson, and it's one that fans will quickly admonish.
"It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract," Hall said in a statement. "It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have done so only after a very careful consideration of the facts and after personally meeting both Jeremy and Oisin Tymon."
The BBC conducted an internal investigation after Clarkson was suspended on March 10 for reportedly throwing a punch at Tymon, a "Top Gear" producer, on March 4. Hall will publish the report due to the "very genuine public interest" shown about the incident.
"I take no pleasure in doing so," Hall said. "I am only making them public so people can better understand the background. I know how popular the program is and I also know that this decision will divide opinion. The main facts are not disputed by those involved."
Fans quickly drew up an online petition to reinstate the 54-year-old host after his suspension, gathering more than 750,000 signatures. Hall has full confidence Clarkson will "continue to entertain, challenge and amuse audiences" after he leaves the BBC.
Clarkson's contract with the BBC was set to expire at the end of the month. The BBC will now decide whether to continue the car program into 2016 and how to air the remaining episodes from the current series.
"This will be a big challenge and there is no point in pretending otherwise. I have asked [BBC2 Controller] Kim Shillinglaw to look at how best we might take this forward over the coming months," Hall said.
"Top Gear" averages more than 5 million viewers for the BBC 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show also holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's most popular factual TV series with an estimated 350 million viewers.
Clarkson is no stranger to controversy. BBC News lists his recent exploits as calling Mexicans "lazy and feckless" in 2011; comparing the design of a camper van to people with facial disfigurements in October 2012; and describing a car fitted with a toilet in the trunk "perfect for India because everyone who comes here gets the trots [diarrhea]" in January 2012, among other un-PC comments.
