Jeremy Clarkson blames divide over farm on house numbers and names

Jeremy Clarkson blames countryside divide between people with a house number and those with a house name for split in opinion over his Diddly Squat farm shop

• The broadcaster says some locals still not impressed with his foray into farming
• Clarkson’s Farm series 2 will launch on Prime Video on February 10

Jeremy Clarkson has blamed the countryside divide between people with a house name and those with a house number for the split in opinion over his Diddly Squat farm and shop. 

The 62-year-old broadcaster owns and runs the farm in the Oxfordshire village of Chadlington, the process of which has been documented for the popular Amazon Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm. 

Ahead of the launch of the show’s second series next month, Clarkson revealed that a number of locals are still less than impressed with his foray into farming – but others support him bringing business to the area.  

‘In a way, the village is divided. It’s difficult to say how many people support us in the village and how many don’t,’ he said. 

Jeremy Clarkson owns and runs the Diddly Squat farm shop in the Oxfordshire village of Chadlington

The running of the farm has been documented for the popular Amazon Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm

Broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson pictured at his Diddly Squat farm shop in West Oxfordshire

‘Some of it, I’m sure, comes from my past, and driving quickly around corners while shouting, and they didn’t find that appealing. 

‘As far as the farm is concerned, it’s split pretty neatly between those who have a house number – you know, 22 Oak Avenue or 3 Grove or whatever – who tend to support us, because we bring business to the area and jobs for their kids. 

‘Some of them are more than happy to go have a nice pint with a lovely view just up the road. So that works.’

But he continued: ‘If they’ve got a house name, they tend not to like us, because they tend to have moved here from London quite recently, and they don’t want crowds of people coming to the farm shop, so that seems to me to be the split. 

‘That’s about as tightly as I can put it.’

Clarkson’s Farm series 2 will launch on Prime Video on February 10 – images have been released ahead of the launch

Clarkson bought the farm in 2008, but only took over the running of it himself in 2019

The broadcaster revealed that a number of locals are still less than impressed with his foray into farming

Clarkson bought the farm in 2008, but only took over the running of it himself in 2019.

The former Top Gear presenter received a poor reaction from some villagers after he expanded his farming business to include a farm shop and restaurant – which were later ordered to be closed after two planning applications were rejected by West Oxfordshire District Council – leading to considerable traffic congestion around the area as fans of the TV presenter flocked to visit.

Clarkson also revealed the outcome of a meeting he held with the locals, during which his lack of farming credentials and celebrity status were scrutinised. 

Clarkson revealed that a number of locals are still less than impressed with his foray into farming – but others support him bringing business to the area

The former Top Gear presenter received a poor reaction from some villagers after he expanded his farming business to include a farm shop and restaurant

Clarkson also revealed the outcome of a meeting he held with the locals, during which his lack of farming credentials and celebrity status were scrutinised

Read More: How Jeremy Clarkson has amassed an estimated £55million fortune thanks to lucrative Amazon and ITV deals, books and Diddly Squat 

 

 

‘I can assure you, the people who spoke early on, I have emphatically not won them over. I lost them years ago,’ he admitted.

‘The ones who spoke first were the ones who really wanted to get it off their chest.’

However, Clarkson said there were ‘plenty’ of other locals who appeared to be more receptive, and even encouraging of his work.

He added: ‘But I think the room had plenty of people in there who were alright with me.

‘One guy said, ‘I’ve lived in this village for 50 years. There are jobs for my kids (now). My house is worth more. I can go up there and have a lovely pint and look at that view. It’s the best thing that’s happened to this area for the 50 years since I’ve lived here’.

‘So, there’s that attitude. They’re very happy. And to be brutally honest, the farm shop is over a mile from the village so it’s of no consequence, really, to the people who actually hate me, and hate the farm shop, and hate the popularity.’

In December Clarkson’s column in The Sun newspaper, in which he said he ‘hated’ the Duchess of Sussex and dreamed of her being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed, became the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s most complained about article.

Despite the backlash Clarkson received as a result of the comments, earlier this month a spokesperson for Amazon confirmed that the third series of Clarkson’s Farm is ‘currently in production to launch at a later date’.

The upcoming series deals with the threat of TB for his cattle which Clarkson says was one of the most difficult areas to cover.

‘We thought, ‘What do we do?’ because if you want to make a popular show you have to say, ‘Oh, look at the little cuddly-wuddly badgers.’ But I thought: no, it’s a farming show, and you’d lose your core audience, the farmers, if you went around, saying, ‘Look at these sweet little animals,” Clarkson said. 

‘So, I actually called them b******* and showed people what they actually do. It’s truthful. 

The upcoming series deals with the threat of TB for his cattle

Clarkson also told people they can support farmers by buying ‘stuff with a red tractor on it

Clarkson’s Farm series 2 will launch on Prime Video on February 10

‘These are not nice animals. Do not be fooled by Brian May. This is what badgers do. This is how much heartache they’re causing to people who’ve worked for generations to build up a farm that’s been wiped out by badgers.’ 

Ahead of the series launch, Clarkson also told people they can support farmers by buying ‘stuff with a red tractor on it, because that means it was grown and produced here to a good standard.’

He said: ‘You can go and buy Australian beef which, I’m sure, stops you from dying of hunger. But you’re not really supporting the British beef industry if you do that. 

‘I mean, avocados. Everyone should stop buying those – they’re so terrible for the environment. And don’t buy palm oil, which comes from Borneo and is killing orangutans, when you could buy vegetable oil made with oil seed rape.’

Clarkson’s Farm series 2 will launch on Prime Video on February 10.

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