Jeremy Clarkson’s Nissan Kumquat gag goes unpunished
Top Gear host’s remark about car model drew complaint from viewer
BBC Top Gear presenter and Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson has escaped punishment after a fan complained.
The viewer’s gripe stems from Clarkson continuously calling Nissan Qashqais, “Nissan Kumquats” in an episode aired in February.
Off the hook… Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson
The angry fan said: “Jeremy Clarkson was ‘pronouncing Nissan Qashqai as Nissan Kumquat and [he] would like to know why”.
In response, a letter from the BBC stated: “It’s simply a nickname for the vehicle, a play on words. Obviously the two words share a phonetic syllable similarity thus like Jeremy does with literally countless car names, he jokingly substituted one with the other, the kumquat of course being an exotic fruit.”
Nissan Qashqai… Or is that Nissan Kumquat?
“Decisions relating to the use of a wordplay in how to describe a car, or which presenter should work on a programme were editorial and creative matters that rested with the BBC.”
No doubt Clarkson will be relieved.
