Fangirling in space

Gillian reacting to David saying:

"I've spent more time with Gillian than anybody in my whole life... So you know it's, you know you gotta be careful. Somebody could get hurt."

March 19, 2015: Award-winning actress Gillian Anderson said Top Gear hooks its audience like a ‘testosterone-filled injection’, and is devoured by fans like TV 'comfort food’.

The star, who is in talks to resume playing FBI Agent Dana Scully in an X-Files TV re-boot, and will play murder detective Stella Gibson in a third season of The Fall, told me that embattled host Jeremy Clarkson was 'very sweet’ to her when she was a guest driver on the popular BBC show recently.

'People rely on it,’ she said. 'He’s become an institution - and the show’s an institution.’

The actress, who in addition to her TV work has been nominated for an Olivier award for her scorching performance as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Young Vic, told me the hysteria over Clarkson’s suspension was understandable, because fans addicted to his controversial style weren’t 'going to get their fix any more’.