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23. 11. 09. - 15:00

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23. 11. 09. - 15:00

Romanian Ambassador asks for Top Gear edit

Romanian Times

The government has asked producers of the UK’s popular Top Gear motoring show to edit out offensive remarks from a recent episode filmed in Romania.

In the show, already broadcast in the UK, presenter Jeremy Clarkson described the country as "Borat country" – referring to Sacha Baron Cohen’s fictional Kazakhstan television presenter and also said as he wore a large pork pie-style hat: ‘‘I’m wearing this hat so the gypsies think I am one. I’m told they can be violent if they don’t like the look of you."

He is also seen talking about "cool, refreshing communist water" – despite the fact communists are not in power.

Now Romania’s Ambassador to the UK, Ion Jinga, has written to producers asking them to make changes in the programme.

He said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the mentions of Borat and the "gypsies" in the episode.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed the letter had been sent.  A spokesman added that Clarkson’s remarks about Romania did not correspond to the real situation in the country.

Top Gear shot the first episode of a new series in Romania at the Parliament Palace in capital city Bucharest, in seaside resort Mamaia and on Transfagarasan, a mountain area in central Romania.

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