Kevin Lego, managing director of media and entertainment at ITV, said on Tuesday that Jeremy Clarkson would continue to present Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? British legislators He said she used “violent, misogynistic language.”
In his column in The Sun newspaper Friday, Clarkson wrote that he “hates [Markle] at the cellular level. He also wrote: “At night, I cannot sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when you will be made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while crowds shout ‘Shame! ‘ and lumps of excrement are thrown at her.”
His remarks were met with thousands of complaints, including from MPs, some of whom called for his sacking by ITV. “I’m horrified because I’ve caused so much hurt and I’ll be more careful in the future,” Clarkson said on social media on Monday. However, he did not apologize for his comments.
Speaking to members of the Broadcasting Journalists’ Union in London, Lego said: “What he said was appalling and I think he admitted that. […] He should apologize.”
He added, “But I will say, you know, what he writes in a newspaper column is really more to talk about because we don’t have control over what he says. We hire him as a skilled announcer for the most popular quiz show on TV. So he’s not exactly in our wheelhouse, but no, I don’t know what he was thinking when he wrote that. It was awful.”
Lego said ITV would keep Clarkson as host of “The Millionaire”. “I think his job as a quiz host is good,” he said. When asked if Clarkson represented ITV’s values when he made his comments in The Sun, Lego replied: “Well, no, of course not, in this case.”
Lego were also asked if they would bring back football analyst Gary Neville. “It’s worth noting that we have a current government in our country that horribly denigrates railway workers, ambulance workers and nurses,” the former England player said during ITV’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup final.
Lego replied: “Remember, he’s a man of the sky, basically. And we hired him because he’s obviously a brilliant football analyst. We were delighted to have him in the team. And I think, you know, on the night of the final when he went off on his political journey, it was clear he was right.” “Although he didn’t reflect ITV’s views. Of course he didn’t. You know, we’re very structured and balanced and all the rest, but at the same time, he has his opinion.”
“I think people should give credit to the audience knowing that this was Gary pulling off one of them. I think there was a lot of time to fill because we were waiting for the presentation. You know, this isn’t the first time he’s said that kind of thing. He’s famous for it. But no, we didn’t expect that.
“We’ve been talking to him about not doing it again. But right now, frankly, he’s not part of our regular regular squad. We’ve got the FA Cup. He’s not part of that team. But, yeah… So, are we going to bring it back?” Appoint him again? It depends on the circumstances, and look, I haven’t spoken to him. So we’ll see.”
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