Love him or hate him, Jeremy Clarkson is perhaps the face of automotive TV, not only in the UK, but globally.

Little wonder then that the Top Gear frontman has had so many column inches devoted to him since news of his second marriage breakdown emerged.

Clarkson's first marriage to Alex Hall took place in 1989 and lasted just six months. The bullish TV presenter married his second wife Frances in 1993, but after 21 years their union too is coming to a close.

If they do go their separate ways, Frances may take up to half of Clarkson's £30 million.

Top Gear fans will perhaps be keen that Clarkson's problems do not interfere with his globally loved Top Gear series. However, a recent indiscretion involving the presenter in a Top Gear take – in which he appears to have used an unsuitable and regrettable term – may be a bigger problem.

His future with Top Gear may now hang in the balance, as the media circus surrounding the incident grows and pressure on the BBC mounts to come up with a suitable response.

Our advice? It could be a good time for Clarkson to go on one of his epic road trips.