ITV boss says Jeremy Clarkson's Meghan Markle remarks have 'no place' on the channel
The TV star came under fire for comments he made about Markle in his column in The Sun
ITV boss Carolyn McCall has said there is “no place on ITV” for the comments Jeremy Clarkson made about Meghan Markle in his controversial newspaper column.
The Grand Tour star landed himself in hot water for remarks he made about Markle in The Sun, which included him saying he hated her on a “cellular” level.
He has since apologised in a lengthy post on Instagram, revealing that he emailed Markle and Prince Harry at Christmas to say sorry.
Read more: Royal Family refuses to condemn Jeremy Clarkson over 'hateful' Meghan Markle column
He also admitted that ITV, which makes his show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, and Amazon, which makes Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour, were “incandescent”.
Deadline has now shared a letter apparently penned by McCall in response to a politician’s request to have Clarkson dropped from Millionaire.
She wrote: “Your concerns are completely understandable. ITV has no editorial control over Jeremy Clarkson’s independent journalistic output in The Sun or anywhere else he chooses to publish.
“Everyone at ITV is very aware of our responsibilities as a Public Service Broadcaster and I’d like to be clear that the comments made were Jeremy Clarkson’s own and are in no way endorsed by ITV. There is no place on ITV for the comments made in that article.”
In Clarkson’s article, he said that he dreamed of the day when Markle was "made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her".
Read more: Jeremy Clarkson and Amazon 'set to part ways' after Meghan Markle row
Apologising on Instagram, he said: “I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head.
"This is me putting my hands up. It’s a mea culpa with bells on.”
Watch: Ed Balls lays into Jeremy Clarkson over Meghan Markle apology