London ( CNN ) Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was suspended for allegedly hitting a producer , the BBC reported on Wednesday . The BBC said Clarkson , one of the corporation 's highest earners , had `` a fracas with a BBC producer '' in a statement released yesterday . `` Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation , '' they said . `` No one else has been suspended . Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday . '' The BBC reported that the next two episodes , and possibly the third and final show of the series , will not be aired . Fans of the presenter expressed dismay at the decision . At the time of writing , more than 300,000 people have signed a petition seeking his reinstatement . Using the hashtag # BringBackClarkson , which is trending worldwide , some Twitter users lamented that the show would not be the same without him . Clarkson himself also took to Twitter , posting an apology ( of sorts ) to Labour leader Ed Miliband -- for knocking him down the news agenda . `` Save Clarkson ? '' his co-host James May tweeted . `` Save empty cardboard boxes and off-cuts of string . They 're far more useful . '' But a `` Sack Jeremy Clarkson '' petition is also doing the rounds , gathering 2,814 signatures so far . Some will be glad to see the back of him . Former CNN host Piers Morgan , who has had a series of run-ins with the presenter , also waded in with a cheeky jibe . This is not the first time that Clarkson has been at the center of controversy . In May last year , the television presenter asked forgiveness after using a racist term during a taping of the show . Clarkson had mumbled the n-word while reciting a children 's nursery rhyme , but that version of the take was never aired . Last year , the BBC show hit the headlines when Argentina complained about a `` Top Gear '' special filmed in the country in which the number plate H982 FKL was used -- interpreted by some as a reference to the 1982 Falklands War . Forced to stop filming and leave the country , Clarkson said on the BBC Newsbeat website that the use of the plate was purely coincidental . Top Gear was named as the world 's most widely watched factual program in the Guinness World Record 2013 Edition book , with an estimated 350 million global viewers . The show is sold to 214 territories worldwide . In a previous article on their website , the BBC said `` Jeremy Clarkson is not a man given to considered opinion . '' In their statement , the corporation declined to comment any further .
er was involved in an encounter with a BBC producer . Top ##er was due to air this episode , but pulled from schedule .