Jeremy Clarkson could return to Top Gear if he faces up to ‘his own shortcomings’, a senior BBC source hinted last night.

The insider said the 54-year-old presenter, who is currently suspended after allegedly assaulting assistant producer Oisin Tymon, might be allowed to come back if he ‘sorted himself out’.

The source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Jeremy wants to stay with the programme and one possible way of him doing that would be if he could face up to his own shortcomings.

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Suspended: A BBC insider has suggested Jeremy Clarkson (pictured at the Roundhouse theatre this week) might be allowed to come back if he 'sorted himself out'

‘He has a great deal of public support and of course that shouldn’t be ignored. But he does needs to rest and sort himself out.’

The remarks come after The Mail on Sunday provoked an outcry last week when we revealed that a BBC executive had likened Clarkson’s support from politicians to that given to paedophile Jimmy Savile.

The Corporation is due to decide Mr Clarkson’s fate this week, after he was suspended pending an independent review into allegations surrounding the alleged assault.

To the disappointment of millions of fans, Top Gear has also been taken off the air.

The BBC and Clarkson have been locked into a bitter war of words since it emerged he had been involved in an altercation with Tymon reportedly sparked by a row over the lack of hot food at a hotel.

The 54-year-old presenter (right) is currently suspended after allegedly assaulting assistant producer Oisin Tymon (left)

During a briefing to this newspaper last week, a BBC executive also claimed the host was ‘self-destructing’ and should go into rehab.

Since then, the Corporation and the presenter have refused to comment publicly about the affair.

Clarkson does not deny ranting at the producer but other claims that he punched his colleague remain unsubstantiated.

Ken MacQuarrie, head of BBC Scotland, who has been investigating the claims, is due to report to BBC director-general Lord Hall, who will then decide on the star’s fate.

But a senior BBC source has now told the MoS there is a growing realisation within the Corporation that it was a mistake to take Top Gear off the air while an investigation was under way.

He said: ‘The programme could have and should have carried on during Clarkson’s suspension.’

Top Gear could have and should have carried on during Clarkson’s suspension

He declined to comment on suggestions that the star needed to spend time in rehab: ‘I think he kind of knows he has to sort himself out. I don’t know if he should go into rehab or not. It’s not for me to say.’

Last week, the MoS’s story showed the extent of BBC briefing against the highly-paid presenter, with an executive likening Tymon’s position to that of Savile’s victims who feared they would not be believed while he was alive. The executive said: ‘The pressure this guy [Tymon] is under is so Savilesque in a way.

‘If you look at what David Cameron says or what [former Culture and Media Secretary] Maria Miller says and you swap Clarkson for Savile, you get this: David Cameron is effectively saying that Savile’s a real talent, Maria Miller is saying Savile will be Savile.’

The comments were strongly condemned by both Savile’s victims and a furious Clarkson, who has since called in lawyers in a bid to identify the source of the comparison.

A BBC spokesman last night declined to comment on the idea that Clarkson could return to the Corporation.