It was recently reported that the host’s time on the ITV show has come to an end following the outrage caused by his hateful column about Meghan Markle earlier this year.
Clarkson claimed that he ‘hated’ Meghan on a ‘cellular level,’ and ‘dreamed’ of her being ‘paraded’ through the streets with ‘excrement’ thrown at her, later apologizing for the article, which became the most-complained-about-article-ever at the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).
The Sun also apologized and stated it regretted publishing the column, which was later removed online. Carolyn McCall, president of ITV, revealed to Variety that the station has contracted Clarkson for the next season of the show, but no further commitments had been made with the TV star as of yet.
‘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.
As speculation spread, Clarkson himself took to Twitter to deny the reports, writing: ‘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.’
Clarkson was also responding to the apparent rumour that he and his partner Lisa Hogan, with whom he has been in a relationship since 2017, had split up.
Debating the topic of Clarkson’s alleged ‘cancellation’ on his TalkTV programme Uncensored, Morgan disputed contributor Dr Tessa Dunlop’s accusation that he was ‘past his prime’, replying: ‘He’s not actually, I think his farm thing’s doing really well,’ referencing Clarkson’s Farm on Prime.
He also brought up Clarkson’s apology for what he wrote about Meghan Markle and commented: ‘My issue with the whole woke brigade is that even when you do issue a grovelling apology it’s never enough. They never accept it; they throw it back in your face.
‘Is it right for a clumsy, stupid, bad joke – it was intended as a joke, no one supports it – but should he actually lose his ITV contract?’ Morgan later commented: ‘I can’t believe that I’m the one that’s got the scar on his head from his fist and I’m the one defending him!’
He and ex-Top Gear star Jeremy had a long-running feud that infamously broke into physical fights over the years, but they appear to have buried the hatchet more lately and are now happy with polite sniping.
When it was suggested that Morgan could be Clarkson’s replacement on the popular quiz show, he quipped: ‘Actually, now you’re talking! I could make my ITV comeback – Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’