Jeremy Clarkson apologises to Top Gear producer he punched, settles claim out of court

Jeremy Clarkson never did get that sirloin steak after decking Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon. But it’s fair to say that he’s eaten a lot of humble pie since.

He lost his job on the BBC’s flagship motoring show, had to put up with the media milling outside his house, and generally became more of a walking punchline than ever. Emphasis on ‘punch’ there.

Well now, as reported by the BBC, Clarkson has apologised to Tymon for the fracas in a Yorkshire hotel last March which caused his colleague a bloody lip and settled a £100,000 racial discrimination and injury claim the Irish producer had filed against him.

"I would like to say sorry, once again, to Oisin Tymon for the incident and its regrettable aftermath - I want to reiterate that none of this was in any way his fault," said Clarkson.

"I am pleased that this matter is now resolved. Oisin was always a creatively exciting part of Top Gear and I wish him every success with his future projects," the presenter added.

Tymon's lawyers said the case had been settled but did not give details of the settlement, which is understood to be north of £100,000, an amount to which both Clarkson and the BBC contributed.

Yep, the BBC will also be hoping this draws a line under matters - especially with so much riding on its shiny new Top Gear line up which hasn’t exactly garnered any positive press as yet, mostly far thanks to staff departures and even rumours its chief host Chris Evans gets car sick.

Quite how Evans, Joey from Friends and that diminutive chap who hangs around F1 garages will do when the new series hits screens remains to be seen. Eyes will also be firmly on Jeremy Clarkson's big money move to Amazon Prime, where he'll be fronting a rival show alongside his old mates Richard Hammond and James May, to see how that goes.

For both shows, there truly is a lot at steak. Wait, we mean stake.