Petition calling for ITV to keep Jeremy Clarkson as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host passes 35,000

More than 35,000 people have signed a petition urging ITV to keep the former Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson as host of popular show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ Clarkson was announced as the host of the quiz back in 2018.

The 62-year-old came under heavy criticism recently for comments regarding the Duchess of Sussex, saying he hated her ‘on a cellular level’ in a widely criticised column for a national newspaper.

The comments made by Clarkson were widely condemned, with his own daughter, Emily Clarkson, speaking out. This led to Variety reporting that Amazon had ‘cut ties’ with the Grand Tour host.

Some bookmakers even have betting odds on who the next host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? might be, with the likes of Warwick Davis touted as a possible suitor to take over should Clarkson be replaced.

This had led to Free Speech Union starting a petition to have him remain as the host. At the time of writing, the petition has over 35,000 signatures. In a tweet, Free Speech Union said “Please sign and re-tweet this petition urging ITV not to cancel Jeremy Clarkson.

“If people make mistakes and then apologise for them, we should give them the benefit of the doubt, not seek to destroy their livelihoods and turn them into social pariahs.”

On the change.org website, the petition says: “Please don’t fire Jeremy Clarkson as host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as a result of what he wrote about the Duchess of Sussex in December.

“While Mr Clarkson’s remarks were considered offensive by some and provoked a record number of complaints to the press regulator, the negative reaction has been completely disproportionate.”