Richard Hammond and James May 'refuse' to film Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson

Richard Hammond, left, and James May, right, are reportedly refusing to film Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson, centre.

Richard Hammond and James May have reportedly refused to film another episode of Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson.

The two presenters are said to have turned down filming more episodes of Top Gear featuring mainly recorded segments with some of Hammond and May in the studio.

An unnamed BBC executive told The Mirror: “They didn’t want to do it without Jeremy so the talks didn’t get off the ground. There is a feeling it is all of them of none of them.”

Clarkson was suspended after allegedly punching producer Oisin Tymon during a row - which took place after filming - over a hot meal at a hotel.

The last episodes of the series have been postponed, causing the BBC to lose millions of viewers and receive thousands of complaints.

It is believed Clarkson and Tymon have now both given their evidence to the corporation’s inquiry into the “fracas”.

May and Hammond have tweeted about their time off from filming in recent days following the BBC’s decision to pull the final three episodes of Top Gear.

Seriously, if you really are unemployed, good luck to you. It's not funny in reality.

— James May (@MrJamesMay) March 18, 2015

Dog
Fog
Job's in the ...
...holding pattern.

Not trying to be cryptic, just enjoying a gorgeous morning. Off. pic.twitter.com/zM8IGyHTgk

— Richard Hammond (@RichardHammond) March 18, 2015

Yesterday, May wrote: “Seriously, if you really are unemployed, good luck to you. It’s not funny in reality.”

Hammond tweeted a picture of his dog, saying: “Not trying to be cryptic, just enjoying a gorgeous morning. Off.”

Representatives for Hammond and May have yet to respond to a request for comment.

A petition calling for the BBC to reinstate Clarkson has reached 960,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, another petition urging the BBC to replace Clarkson with Alan Partridge has received over 27,000 signatures since Monday.

- Independent