A Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? celebrity special has been shelved after female stars refused to work with host Jeremy Clarkson.
At least three female stars made it “very loud and very clear” that they did not want to be on TV with the host.
The household names were due to appear on a charity celebrity series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? hosted by the motormouth, 62, after he made disgusting comments about the Duchess of Sussex.
Filming in Manchester was postponed this month with the official line that it was on hold due to “scheduling issues”.
But behind the scenes of the ITV show there was chaos as stars started backing out, fearing that their charity causes might be caught in a furore.
A source said: “ITV were left with no choice but to postpone the show.
“The feelings were made very loud, and very clear. Namely that they didn’t want to share a platform with Clarkson and, in doing so, risk being seen to legitimise his misogynistic comments.
“They were appearing on the show to raise money for charity, and they were acutely aware that they didn’t want causes special to their heart to be caught up in any backlash. It was a no-brainer to be honest, they had to walk away.”
ITV declined to comment yesterday on the female stars pulling out.
The normal version of the show with Clarkson at the helm is being filmed this month. ITV sources say that while they are contractually commissioned to go ahead with it, there are “no further commissioning commitments”.
This could also indicate the celebrity version, described as “on hold”, could be quietly shelved. ITV sources said they could not confirm either way.
Clarkson has hosted the show since 2018 and still retains a lot of fans.
A petition calling on ITV CEO Carolyn McCall for him to keep his job as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has now hit 60,000 signatures.
He provoked fury by saying in a Sun column that he wanted Meghan to be “paraded naked through the streets” and “dreams of people throwing excrement at her”. He added he hated the ex-Suits actress “on a cellular level”.
He said after the initial outcry: “We’ve all been there. We realise we’ve messed up. Your head pounds. And you feel sick. Had I really said that? It was horrible.”
The columnist later revealed he had said sorry to Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, and admitted that TV bosses were furious with him.
Clarkson said he had emailed the Sussexes to apologise on Christmas Day.
He wrote in an Instagram post: “I really am sorry. This is me putting my hands up. A mea culpa with bells on.”
But a spokesman for the duke and duchess claimed he had only sent the email to Prince Harry.
They added: “It is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.”
Clarkson’s author daughter Emily, 28, also distanced herself from the rant.
Amazon will stop working with him on The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm after next year when his deal ends, according to reports.
The BBC fired him in 2015 for attacking a male Top Gear producer.
