Jeremy's The Elephant In The Room

Jeremy's The Elephant In The Room

There will be an elephant in the room when the last Top Gear show to feature presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond is aired tomorrow - and he's called Jeremy.

Makers of the BBC show borrowed a 10ft plastic replica from a Hull design company and it was transported down the M1 to the Surrey studios on the back of a lorry.

His owners believe the model, which weighs almost half a tonne, will feature in the last episode of the globally popular series, following the decision to drop Clarkson after his infamous fracas with show producer Oisin Tymon.

It was thought Top Gear borrowed the model, since nicknamed Jeremy, to appear as a visual gag about the elephant in the room - the absence of Clarkson.

It has been reported Clarkson will appear in the episode's knockabout films but will not be present for the studio sections of the show.

Commercial design consultant Andrew Fenton, who runs Hull-based InterTech Media UK, was approached by the producers who wanted to borrow the elephant which normally stands in an urban wind farm.

He believed previous dealings he had with BBC licensing led them to get in touch with the request.

He said: "It's quite a big elephant and we needed an articulated lorry to get him down there.

"We don't know how much of him they will use in the show."

Mr Fenton said he offered the show the use of replica baby elephants because they would be easier to transport, but they declined, saying they wanted the big one.

"I got a text from the show when he arrived saying they had got it and they were really chuffed.

"He looks quite aggressive, like a proper elephant."

Jeremy was required for a day's filming before he was returned to Humberside where he has been fixed back in his place.

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