ITV says 'Jeremy Clarkson hasn't been cancelled' after Millionaire reports
The classic gameshow isn't being axed after all.
An ITV spokesperson has confirmed that there will be a further season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? after previous reports claimed that the Clarkson-fronted gameshow had been axed.
In a statement provided to Sky News, they stated: "As we have said for several weeks, ITV is contractually committed to a further series of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (which has now been recorded).
"There are no further commissioning commitments beyond that currently as is typical with such shows where we make commissioning decisions on a series by series basis.
"Therefore for the avoidance of doubt neither Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? nor Jeremy Clarkson have been cancelled.”
Clarkson Tweeted about the news yesterday evening, saying: "So many kind messages about today's reports. But relax... I have not been sacked as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."
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The announcement comes after previous reports indicated that the hit show would be Clarkson's last following controversial comments he made about Meghan Markle in his column for The Sun. In the December column, he stated that he hated Markle on a "cellular level".
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The comments were made after the release of Netflix's Harry & Meghan documentary, where the couple outlined how negativity in the British press was a factor in taking a step back from the royal family.
In his column, Clarkson also expressed a desire to see Markle "made to parade naked through the streets" while crowds "throw lumps of excrement at her", referencing a scene in Game of Thrones.
ITV has been forced to postpone filming for the upcoming season of the popular gameshow's celebrity specials on account of Clarkson's column, which was initially slated for filming in February.
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In a previous interview with Variety, ITV's CEO Carolyn McCall said that Clarkson's upcoming season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? would be his final one. "We have a contract. We’re contracted to this [season], so we will do that."
Referring to Clarkson's comments about Markle, McCall stated that ITV did "come out immediately" with a response, pointing at the 20th December 2022 statement made by director of television Kevin Lygo.
In Lygo's statement, he stated that Clarkson's column would not affect his role on Millionaire, saying in December: "What [Clarkson] writes in a newspaper column is really more for [the press] to talk about than us."
CEO McCall also stated: "There was no dissent internally. We came out much quicker than anybody else, Amazon included. We just came out said, ‘Yes, we do not endorse a single word that he said on that. And there’s no place for that on ITV.’"
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