Sue Perkins, one of the frontrunners for Clarkson's job, subject to online trash talk

She hasn't even landed the job as Jeremy Clarkson's replacement on BBC show Top Gear - and she may not get it - but Sue Perkins has already drawn the ire of the internet and left Twitter because of it.

Top Gear is the internationally popular show about cars and driving that was, until recently, hosted by Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.

Perkins is an actress and comedian who co-hosts the daytime talk show Mel & Sue with Mel Giedroyc. They are a long-time show business duo with a background in sketch comedy, who also present on the popular cooking competition show Great British Bake Off.

She became one of the rumoured frontrunners for replacing Clarkson when British bookies declared it so, giving her the best odds at getting the gig.

Perkins denied that she was taking the job on Twitter, but that didn't make much difference. Trolls seized on the intel and targeted Perkins with sexist invective and death threats. There was overlap with people who were angered by the BBC's decision not to renew Clarkson's contract because of his history of offensive behaviour, culminating in Clarkson punching Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon. He was officially fired on March 25.