Answer of the BBC to my Top Gear incident complaint

Dear Carlos,
 
Thank you for contacting BBC Worldwide Channels about Top Gear.
 
We are BBC Worldwide Channels, and we currently operate CBeebies and BBC
Entertainment in Latin America.  As the episode of Top Gear which you
mention has not been shown outside of the UK as yet, unfortunately we
are unable to address your query for you.  However, we can confirm that
the BBC itself has addressed these concerns via a statement today, which
we can provide below:
 
"Thank you for your feedback about the comments made about Mexicans in
the Top Gear broadcast on 30 January 2010.
 
The producers of Top Gear have apologised to the Mexican Ambassador for
the comments made about him during the show.  Whilst the majority of the
piece on the Mastretta had been discussed in advance with BBC Editorial
Policy staff, the comments about him were ad libbed by the presenters
during the recording.  The BBC's Editorial Guidelines are very clear
about singling out individuals for irreverent/mocking/ comments.  Those
guidelines were not adhered to and the Top Gear production team has
apologised for this.  The comments about the Ambassador have been
removed from all repeats of the programme.
 
With regard to the other comments made about Mexicans, these were indeed
playing off a stereotype, and that practice is something that regular
viewers of Top Gear will be familiar with, as the presenters often make
jokes about the perceived characteristics of various nationalities when
talking about the cars made in those countries. It is something that has
been done in the past with the French, the Germans, the Americans and
the Italians, so Mexico was not singled out for special treatment in
this case.
 
Comments made by the Top Gear presenters are clearly exaggerated for
comic effect - to imply that a sports car is no good because it will
spend all day asleep is self evidently absurd, and not meant to be taken
as vindictive.  The Top Gear audience understands this clearly and
treats these remarks accordingly.
 
The UK prides itself on being a tolerant nation, but one of the
contributing factors towards that tolerance is the fact that jokes made
around national stereotyping are commonplace, and are indeed a robust
part of our national humour. Typically the most comedic ones are
negative - for example our own comedians make material out of the fact
that the British are supposed to be terrible cooks, terrible romantics,
and forever happy to come second. In fact, some of the more humorous
complaints we have received from Mexico are based on stereotypical
retorts, with one excellent one in particular referring to the
presenters as effete tea drinkers.
 
In line with that British tradition, stereotype-based comedy is allowed
within BBC guidelines, in programmes where the audience has clear
expectations of that being the case, as it indeed is with Top Gear. Of
course it may appear offensive to those who have not watched the
programme or who are unfamiliar with its humour.
 
Please accept our assurance that it was not the intention of the
programme to offend Mexicans but rather to use a clearly unbelievable
stereotype of Mexicans to humorous effect."
 
Best wishes,
 
BBC Worldwide Channels