James May on the problem with his TV co-star

Ah, yes, Jeremy Clarkson. May’s Top Gear co-host has recently been spending more time in his London flat – and wrote a lachrymose column about his inability to work the coffee machine, the internet or the washing machine. May doesn’t hold with this kind of thing. Useless Man Syndrome, he calls it.

Alongside what seems to be a in a nutshell increased scrutiny of Top Gear’s ‘agenda’ there have been repeated calls for the BBC to reveal full details of its stars’ salaries, led by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. How did that go down in the Top Gear camp?

It always makes me laugh when all TV presenters claim to be on TV purely "as chance would have it" or "by accident!" I think it's fair to say that it's impossible to get anywhere nearly a TV studio without years of persistent calls to producers and years of networking. I can't imagine anyone used to media salaries would last 5 minutes on a teacher's wage!