James May 'having a difficult time' amid co-star Jeremy Clarkson's Amazon 'axe'
James May, 60, admitted to experiencing 'a difficult time' as he celebrated his birthday on Monday.
The former Top Gear presenter's update to fans online came just hours before The Grand Tour host's co-star Jeremy Clarkson issued a public apology to Meghan Markle following his disturbing comments about the Duchess of Sussex last month.
Clarkson's lengthy Instagram statement was quickly followed by the news Amazon Prime have reportedly parted ways with Clarkson and won’t be working with the controversial star beyond seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm that have already been commissioned.
The streaming platform will apparently go ahead with already-commissioned series of The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm, but reportedly have no plans to work with the controversial star after 2024.
The future of The Grand Tour is up in the air following Jeremy Clarkson's vile rant about Meghan Markle (Getty Images)Taking to Twitter on Monday morning, James - who has fronted The Grand Tour with Clarkson and Richard Hammond since 2016 - thanked fans for their birthday messages.
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He told fans: "Thank you for all your birthday wishes/crap jokes/sod offs. It is very comforting at this difficult time.
"I have successfully applied for my over-60s bus and tube pass. Pretty impressive, old person using the internet, etc etc."
One fan replied to the birthday boy, writing: "Hopefully the Amazon decision does not affect your work. I loved Oh Cook! Maybe C5 will take up the Grand Tour?"
Fans of the Amazon Prime series are desperate for confirmation the show has a future (BBC Worldwide Ltd/Ellis O'Brien)Another asked: "Has the grand tour been cancelled after 2024?"
Amazon are yet to confirm what the future holds for The Grand Tour on their platform, but Variety claim TV sources tell them Clarkson won’t be appearing in any new shows on Prime Video beyond 2024.
The Mirror has approached Amazon for comment.
On Monday, Clarkson, 62, said his bosses at Amazon and at ITV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire were "incandescent" with him last month, when he wrote his hate-filled rant about the Duchess of Sussex in The Sun.
The TV star wrote in print and online in December how he hates the former Suits actress "on a cellular level" and wants her to be "paraded naked through the streets".
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a joint response to Clarkson's apology (Getty Images)Clarkson explained in his now-deleted newspaper column how he "dreams of people throwing lumps of excrement at her" in the insensitive spew of hatred towards Meghan – who he has never met.
In the wake of the column being published, many called for the TV presenter to be sacked from his ITV and Amazon gigs - something Clarkson addressed in his lengthy statement shared on social media on Monday.
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"The Sun quickly apologised, and I tried to explain myself. But still, there were calls for me to be sacked and charged with a hate crime. More than 60 MPs demanded action to be taken," Clarkson wrote halfway through his statement.
" ITV, who make Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Amazon, who make the Farm Show and Grand Tour, were incandescent."
Many want to see Clarkson sacked from his ITV and Amazon gigs (ITV)"I therefore wrote to everyone who works with me saying how sorry I was and then on Christmas morning, I e-mailed Harry and Meghan in California to apologise to them too."
Meghan and Harry issued a response on Monday night to Clarkson's claims he emailed both of them on Christmas Day - saying The Grand Tour presenter only addressed his apology to Harry.
A joint statement issued on behalf of the couple reads: "On December 25, 2022, Mr. Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.
"The contents of his correspondence were marked Private and Confidential.
"While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr. Clarkson, what remained to be addressed is his long standing pattern of writing articles that spread ate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny."
It adds: "Unless each of his other pieces were also written "in a hurry", as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate."
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