Clarkson made the joke on Sunday's show
Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has sunk the BBC into fresh controversy after making jokes linking truck drivers to the murder of prostitutes. Around 200 viewers complained about the gag made on Sunday’s episode of the motoring show.
Clarkson was sitting behind the wheel of an HGV when he said: ‘It really is a hard job and I'm not just saying that to gain favour with truck drivers. That's a lot of effort in a day. You've got to 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.'
The BBC is already immersed in a row over an obscene phone call made by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand on Radio 2. The pre-recorded remarks by Clarkson have now sparked outrage from truck drivers. Roger King, of the Road Haulage Association, wrote to the BBC: 'Whilst this could be interpreted as being 'humorous', it certainly is not seen that way by over half a million lorry drivers.
'At a time when the BBC has come in for much criticism over the Brand/Ross debacle, I would have thought more attention would be made to ensure that high-paid TV presenters did not gratuitously insult other members of the working population.' The United Road Transport Union said they had been inundated with complaints from its 17,000 truck driver members.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said: 'The vast majority of Top Gear viewers have clear expectations of Jeremy Clarkson's long-established and frequently provocative on-screen persona. This particular reference was used to comically exaggerate and make ridiculous an unfair urban myth about the world of lorry driving, and was not intended to cause offence.'
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