'Top Gear' producers defend India special: 'Jokes at expense of hosts'

Top Gear producers have responded to the recent criticism over its India special.

The programme, which aired on December 28, was criticised by some viewers for playing on Indian stereotypes, with presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond joking about food, illness and trains.

The Indian High Commission later described the episode as "offensive" and "tasteless" in an open letter to BBC director general Mark Thompson.

Producers have now responded that the special's jokes were at the expense of its presenters rather than India itself, saying that it was "filled with incidents but none of them were an insult to the Indian people or the culture of the country".

A statement from the BBC read: "Our film showed the charm, the beauty, the wealth, the poverty and the idiosyncrasies of India, but there's a vast difference between showing a country, warts and all, and insulting it.

"It's simply not the case that we displayed a hostile or superior attitude to our hosts and that's very clear from the way the presenters can be seen to interact with them along the way.

"We genuinely loved our time in India and if there were any jokes to be had they were, as ever, reflected back on the presenters rather than the Indian people."

The special episode received 188 complaints of the total 4.38 million viewers.

Watch a clip from the Top Gear India special below: