They were out filming late and the hotel (out in the middle of nowhere, Yorkshire) stopped evening meals at 8:30 pm
It would have been sensible for the producer to pay the hotel extra to keep the staff on late - heck it's his job to do the organizing. The extra cost to the BBC would have been negligible compared to the UK rates for daily helicopter rental...:^)
A long day out in the cold, windy, wet moors of Yorkshire would deserve a hot meal for all of the crew not just Clarkson - the producer didn't do his job and may not have deserved a punch, but it may have been the last straw to Clarkson.
After returning from a warmer part of the UK after 3 weeks I was happy to feel the warm air at Phoenix airport...:^)
The Yorkshire moors can be a miserable place to be even in a UK summer.
it may have been the last straw to Clarkson
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That is my take but I do’t really know.
It may have been related to contract negotiations.