Top Gear host Richard Hammond has claimed the programme team felt a "real chill" when it dawned on them their number plate could cause offence in Argentina.
The presenters of the show and their crew fled the country - where they were filming a Christmas special - as a result of protests over the plate on Jeremy Clarkson's Porsche which read H982 FKL, which some interpreted as an insensitive reference to the Falklands War in 1982.
Hammond, speaking for the first time about the incident, assured viewers that it was an innocent coincidence, echoing comments which have been made by his colleagues.
He said it would have been "a terrible gag if we'd planned it - we wouldn't joke about soldiers, we simply wouldn't. That one was a genuine accident".
Hammond, speaking on the Chris Evans show on Radio 2, said: "The whole thing turned out to be a bit crazy. It turns on one moment and I remember it very distinctly.
"There was a tweet from somebody pointing out that one of the registration plates on one of the cars could be seen as having a reference to the Falklands War.
"There was a real chill went through all of us - it was a distinct moment, we all (went) 'hang on a minute - it's a bit tenuous but yet it probably does'.
He went on: "That's when we realised we had to do something about it. That's kind of why we've all got our hands up saying 'hang on a minute' - the idea that we'd planned that is pretty much impossible and certainly isn't true."
He said it was the choice of cars which came first and Clarkson had decided he had wanted a Porsche 928 GT for the trip which saw the team journeying through Argentina and Chile.
"We didn't look at the plates. I've never looked at a number plate that we've used on a car for a special. Not with that kind of cynical outlook. You just get the car you want. There were only two of those 928 GTs for sale in the UK at the time - one of which was the one that we got."
He went on: "We do spend quite a lot of time sailing quite close to the line. We know that, our viewers know that and sometimes we only know the line is there when we look back over our shoulders and say 'oh we've gone over it' and we put our hands up - 'fair enough, we got that wrong'.
"On this occasion we were very keen for our viewers not to think that we would have done that gag, that it was deliberate, because it wasn't. We want them to know that it isn't," Hammond added.
The show has been at the centre of a number of recent controversies with presenter Clarkson having already been given a final warning by the BBC.
Asked if he and fellow host James May would also leave if Clarkson were to go, Hammond said: "We're a unit. I don't want to speak out of turn, I can't speak for James certainly. But we're a unit, it's happened the way it's happened. What happens subsequent to it is part of the story. It's been a riotous adventure for us. It's ending, whenever and however that comes, is part of that story."
Clarkson has been accused by Argentina's UK ambassador Alicia Castro of "fabricating" his version of events.
Writing in The Independent today, she expressed doubts about his story and said his tale was "designed to portray Argentines as savages".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article