Kathy Burke hits out at ‘colossal c***’ Jeremy Clarkson after his Meghan Markle rant

Kathy Burke has hit out at Jeremy Clarkson after the former Top Gear presenter came under fire for vitriolic remarks about Meghan Markle.

In a newspaper column this week, Clarkson wrote that he despises the Duchess of Sussex “on a cellular level” and dreams of people throwing “excrement” at her in the street.

He also said he hated Markle, “not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West”, but on a “cellular level”.

Clarkson’s comments, written in The Sun on Friday 16 December in response to the Harry and Meghan documentary on Netflix, were widely condemned as “vile and disgusting”.

Now, comedian and actor Burke has weighed in, tweeting on Sunday 18 December: “Watched the rest of #HarryandMeganNetflix. Still think they’re pretty great and I love their relationship with Meghan’s gorgeous mum, Doria.

“Wishing them continued happiness and people like that colossal c*** Clarkson continued pain with the thought of it.”

Jacqui Smith MP was one of the first people to call Clarkson out, writing on Twitter: “I’m your age @JeremyClarkson and I couldn’t disagree more with you. Why do you have to be so horrible? I can’t believe it’s good for you and it certainly isn’t good for the rest of us.”

Another person posted: “I’m sorry but what has Meghan Markle done to deserve to be more hated than Rose West? I’m trying to think what has she done that’s worse than what Rose did? This is just vile and disgusting. Is Jeremy Clarkson upset that Meghan stood up for herself?”

Clarkson has been heavily critical of the duchess before. In March last year, after Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Clarkson said: “Trust me on this one. Markle’s toast...”

The second batch of episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s documentary arrived on Netflix on Thursday 15 December, with the couple discussing everything from arguments with Prince William to Meghan’s miscarriage.

Read the biggest talking points here and The Independent’s review here.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped down as senior royals in 2020, give intimate interviews in the series, alongside family and friends who have never spoken publicly about the couple’s relationship before.

Harry and Meghan was directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus, who has worked on a number of documentaries about public figures, including Marilyn Monroe, Bobby Fischer, and Nina Simone.