Bake Off host Sue Perkins favourite to replace Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear

Sue Perkins is a favourite to replace Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. Photo / Getty Images

Great British Bake Off host Sue Perkins is now the favourite to replace disgraced presenter Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear.

A flurry of bets placed on Perkins have propelled her to the top spot for the now-vacant position, according to bookmakers Coral.

It has made her evens for the role, ahead of former X-factor presenter Dermot O'Leary who is 2-1 and British model Jodie Kidd who is third at 5-2.

The firm's spokesperson Nicola McGeady said: "This latest gamble suggests that Sue Perkins is being lined up to replace Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear.

"When betting first opened on Clarkson's successor, it was one-way traffic for Jodie Kidd and now today's flutter has convinced us that a female is in the driving seat."

Clarkson's future at the BBC remains uncertain but he will be back on the channel later this month to host satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You.

The corporation investigated the ousted Top Gear presenter after he attacked one of the show's producers, splitting his lip and abusing him in a 30-second verbal assault on March 4.

He was initially suspended by the broadcaster on March 10 for the attack on Oisin Tymon, before it announced his contract would not be renewed.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was one of the many famous faces to lend his support to Clarkson in the aftermath, while over one million people signed a petition urging the BBC to reinstate him.

But director-general Tony Hall said "a line has been crossed" and "there cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another".

Clarkson will appear on stage with his former Top Gear colleagues Richard Hammond and James May later this year to fulfil a series of shows planned before he left the BBC.

The gigs will be stripped of all BBC branding and instead be presented as "Clarkson, Hammond and May Live".

That means the show which will tour Australia, Norway, South Africa and the UK will not be able to use clips from the show - or even feature The Stig.

The move has sparked rumours that all three men could team up to continue their careers together but sources close to the tour claim it is just a matter of fulfilling commitments to the fans.

The future of the show's other two presenters - Hammond and May - is also unclear with both men's Top Gear contracts having run out.

- Daily Mail