A petition calling for Alan Partridge to replace Jeremy Clarkson as the presenter of Top Gear has received more than 15,000 signatures in the last 24hrs.
Clarkson was recently suspended from the hugely successful TV show following an alleged 'fracas' with a producer, and the fall-out from said altercation could pave the way for the fictional presenter to join the team.
Partridge is a well-known car-lover, long-time reader of Top Gear Magazine, and even once fronted a show entitled .
The campaign itself is using the hashtag #HirePartridge, while the statement on the reads as follows:
"We, the undersigned, would like to see Jeremy Clarkson’s vacated role on the BBC’s flagship programme Top Gear taken up by Alan Partridge.
Alan has a strong track record for broadcast presenting, from his relaxed professionalism with guests on BBC chat show ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ to his effortless banter on his talk shows at Radio Norwich. He has good experience with motoring TV, after his brilliant work on ‘Crash! Bang! Wallop! (What a video)’. His work as sports presenter on news programme ‘The Day Today’ also shows off his ability to talk about and inform on a range of topics.
We believe this diversity of experience and his noted passion for cars puts Alan in great stead to take over as chief presenter after Clarkson’s successful tenure. Mr Partridge is both capable of retaining what has made the show great over the years and adding a new and vital re-energised flavour to the show."
The petition currently has 15,890 signatures, though that's nothing compared to the '' petition, which at time of writing has 959,892 signatures.
Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and thinks that Partridge should replace EVERYONE on TV. Aside from Jeff Stelling. He can be found talking about nothing on .