He may be Top Gear, but he certainly won’t be top satnav

As a holder of business van insurance I occasionally have to resort to my satnav when I’m not entirely sure where I’m headed. But when news emerged that Jeremy Clarkson was going to have a starring role as a voice on satnavs I was less than thrilled.


It’s not as though I harbour a particular hatred for Jeremy Clarkson, he’s just not my favourite person in the world. Plus, the satnav quotes included, “Keep left – if you're not sure which side left is you really shouldn't be on the road,” and other similarly insulting remarks.

When I’m forced to use my satnav, the last thing I want is for it to bark rude comments at me!

However, the chances are I’ll never have to suffer the Jeremy Clarkson voice as the BBC has had to go back on the deal. It has been revealed that the satnav breaches the broadcasting organisation’s editorial guidelines regarding conflicts of interest.

Apparently, around 54,000 of the satnavs have already been made, some of which have been delivered to shops. So now, all the proceeds made from the sales will be donated to Children in Need and no more of the devices will be manufactured. Plans to make the voice available for download for existing satnav owners have been scrapped too.

Now that I am extremely unlikely to have to endure Jeremy Clarkson telling me what to do, I can sleep soundly in bed (or van!) once again.  

Photo © Handolio via flickr, under Creative Commons Licence