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London - A number of Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear stunts are reportedly fake.
It has been claimed many of the daredevil driving scenes filmed by the TV presenter - who is one of the BBC's highest-paid stars, with a salary of £1m-a-year - are actually carried out by professional racers, with the footage then cleverly edited to trick viewers into thinking Jeremy was the one behind the wheel.
An insider who worked on the BBC Two show for more than five years told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "Certainly most of the time professional drivers are doing the clever stuff on the track.
"These takes are cut in to the presenters' in-car pieces when the programme goes out to make it look like Clarkson has been driving all the way through.
"Pros make it all look more exciting. There are limitations with filming. It's all done on a pretty tight time schedule and they need to get the right shots quickly, which is why they use pros because they can do the stunts in one take."
With time constraints blamed for the reason behind the alleged editing, it is claimed Jeremy only actually performs 20% of his stunts himself.
'Going on for years'
Another source said: "Top Gear relies on professional racing drivers a lot more than the show would suggest. I would say 80% of the driving on the show is done by pros but it is made to look as if it's done by Jeremy.
"It's been going on for years. The fact is the presenters on Top Gear are presenters. They are not professional drivers, so why would you get them to do a job that an expert can do better, faster and in one take?"
However, the BBC have stated the only reason why a professional driver may be used in place of Jeremy and his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond is when producers need to go back to get a "pick-up shot".
Top Gear spokesperson Tara Davies explained: "When Jeremy, James and Richard are seen driving on the show, it is them driving, but on occasion, the crew may need to go back and get pick-up shots."
It has been claimed many of the daredevil driving scenes filmed by the TV presenter - who is one of the BBC's highest-paid stars, with a salary of £1m-a-year - are actually carried out by professional racers, with the footage then cleverly edited to trick viewers into thinking Jeremy was the one behind the wheel.
An insider who worked on the BBC Two show for more than five years told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "Certainly most of the time professional drivers are doing the clever stuff on the track.
"These takes are cut in to the presenters' in-car pieces when the programme goes out to make it look like Clarkson has been driving all the way through.
"Pros make it all look more exciting. There are limitations with filming. It's all done on a pretty tight time schedule and they need to get the right shots quickly, which is why they use pros because they can do the stunts in one take."
With time constraints blamed for the reason behind the alleged editing, it is claimed Jeremy only actually performs 20% of his stunts himself.
'Going on for years'
Another source said: "Top Gear relies on professional racing drivers a lot more than the show would suggest. I would say 80% of the driving on the show is done by pros but it is made to look as if it's done by Jeremy.
"It's been going on for years. The fact is the presenters on Top Gear are presenters. They are not professional drivers, so why would you get them to do a job that an expert can do better, faster and in one take?"
However, the BBC have stated the only reason why a professional driver may be used in place of Jeremy and his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond is when producers need to go back to get a "pick-up shot".
Top Gear spokesperson Tara Davies explained: "When Jeremy, James and Richard are seen driving on the show, it is them driving, but on occasion, the crew may need to go back and get pick-up shots."
