James May has been forced to backtrack for suggesting Top Gear viewers who sent threatening tweets to Sue Perkins should 'kill themselves ' . Perkins , who became a favourite to replace the ousted Jeremy Clarkson after a flurry of bets , recently announced she was leaving Twitter as a result of the horrific abuse . In response , May said : 'If you 're one of the people sending death threats to Sue Perkins , could you please do the world a much bigger favour by killing yourself . ' The presenter quickly clarified : 'Obviously I do n't actually want people to kill themselves but , really , we do n't want them as fans . ' James May ( right ) backtracked on his comment that Top Gear viewers who sent threatening tweets to Sue Perkins ( left ) should 'kill themselves ' May is currently getting ready to tour a Top Gear spin-off around the UK alongside Clarkson and Richard Hammond , following the BBC 's sacking of Clarkson for punching a producer . They will be stripped of all BBC branding and instead be presented as 'Clarkson , Hammond and May Live ' , meaning the show will not be able to use clips from Top Gear - or even feature the Stig . May 's comments were made after Perkins finally decided to take a break from Twitter in response to the barrage of abuse . She had earlier stated : 'Guys , post the utterly fabricated story about me and Top Gear , my timeline has been full of blokes wishing me dead . This morning , someone suggested they 'd like to see me burn to death . 'All of which goes to say that I am off Twitter for a bit . Love and peace x . ' The Great British Bake Off host was said to be the front-runner for the job , according to bookmakers Coral , with Dermot O'Leary second favourite at 2-1 . Actor Philip Glenister , famed for his role as the detective in Life On Mars , has also been rumoured to replace the ousted Clarkson . The Bake Off star denied the rumours , resulting in a torrent of abuse from Top Gear fans . Perkins said on Twitter last week : 'Just back from night shoot in Kolkata sewers to find my timeline busy with middle-aged man-trolls . General gist : Man do cars , woman do cake . ' Jeremy Clarkson , pictured here smoking and looking tired in London this week , attacked one of the Top Gear producers . Clarkson was the subject of an internal BBC investigation after he attacked Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon , splitting his lip and verbally abusing him in a 30-second assault on March 4 . He was suspended by the broadcaster on March 10 before it announced his contract would not be renewed . The star received widespread public support - including from his friend Prime Minister David Cameron - in the aftermath of the fracas , and one million people signed a petition calling for the BBC to reinstate him . But director-general Tony Hall said ' a line has been crossed ' and 'there can not be one rule for one and one rule for another ' .
James ##bull has backtracked on comment suggesting trolls ' kill themselves ' He was referring to people sending death threats to Sue Perkins on Twitter . Perkins has been described as a bookies ' favourite to be Jeremy Clarkson . But it led to a string of abuse sent by troll Gear ##gers on social media . She announced recently she would be leaving Twitter for the near future .