Jeremy Clarkson’s final scenes in Top Gear will be screened later this year, according to the boss of BBC Two.

Kim Shillinglaw said she was not thinking of his replacement “in terms of gender”.

She said the scenes filmed before Clarkson was suspended for his attack on Oisin Tymon were likely to air this summer.

(Anthony Devlin/PA)
(Anthony Devlin/PA)

She said: “They simply weren’t able to shoot enough material”, but added: “No way would I want the available material not to be seen by viewers”.

Asked about drafting in a woman to replace him, she said: “I worked a lot with female presenters and when I used to work in science that was something across the piste that I really wanted to tackle. But I don’t think I’ve ever approached an individual show thinking that was the way I want to cast it, so I think it’s an open book on that.

“We’ll definitely look at some women but it’s not a driving priority.”