Top Gear’s toilet humour

A scene from the christmas special episode of Top GearA special edition of BBC automobile show Top Gear, which led to a complaint by the Indian High Commission, was not insulting, the programme has said.

The episode on India, broadcast in December, featured jokes about food and trains, and a Jaguar car fitted with a toilet seat in its boot. Showing off the customised Jaguar with toilet roll on its aerial, presenter Jeremy Clarkson said: “This is perfect for India because everyone who comes here gets the trots.”

The Indian High Commission in London complained the show was “offensive” and had “toilet humour”. Top Gear said the show was a “warts and all” portrayal of India, and the jokes were at the expense of the presenters.

“Our film showed the charm, beauty, wealth, poverty and idiosyncrasies of India, but there’s a vast difference between showing a country, warts and all, and insulting it.”