Moment Top Gear bosses prayed Jeremy Clarkson would behave in 'impossible' segment

Top Gear favourite Jeremy Clarkson reportedly caused concern to petrified producers during The Cool Wall, who found themselves praying he wouldn't make any overly scathing "offensive" comments. According to a trivia account on Instagram called geek_withamouth, it was a "butt-clenching" experience for those behind the scenes.

A post all about it claimed that Clarkson and co-star Richard Hammond were "constantly moving about" throughout filming, adding an extra element of difficulty to shooting the scene. The caption concluded: "The producers simply had to sit with butt-cheeks firmly clenched and hope Jeremy didn't say anything too 'offensive'." The Cool Wall had originally been intended as a low-budget filler segment to supplement the main action content - and some fans have speculated that it was discontinued because it had become more trouble than it was worth.

In 2007 - just five years after the segment began - the Cool Wall was destroyed after suspected arsonists started a devastating fire in the barn the producers had been using as a storage facility.

Most of the original props were wrecked in the blaze, which the police stated had been started deliberately.

Over 30 firefighters had been dispatched to extinguish the fire but their damage limitation efforts failed and eventually the Cool Wall was abandoned altogether.

Speaking about it on Instagram, one viewer dismissed: "It was incredibly low budget and pretty low entertainment. The series moved towards bigger, pre-recorded events and challenges as the show went on.

"Who's buying the DVDs so they can look at the cool wall? Nobody. It wasn't worth the time allotted."

Another viewer agreed: "The cool wall was an example of a segment that cost basically nothing, was easy to film and could fill up like 5-10 minutes of an episode. Perfect for a low budget show.

"As Top Gear ballooned into the juggernaut it became, the show simply outgrew the need for such 'filler' segments."

However, while it might not have been the show's main attraction, some fans were still disappointed by its loss, with one mourning: "Absolutely loved this."