Jeremy Clarkson has experienced his fair share of controversies throughout his decades-long career, but he’s won over an unlikely new legion of fans thanks to his new career move.
The former Top Gear host shunned showbiz to try his hand at farming, after he bought land in Oxfordshire in 2009, and took the farm over himself three years ago when the farm keeper died.
Jeremy has hit the headlines in recent years due to his controversial opinions, but he’s seemingly turned over a new leaf as he embraces his new life as a farmer, and is documenting his journey in the Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm.
Despite winning praise for the series, which sheds light on the plight faced by farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeremy couldn’t escape the wrath of a certain telly duo who were keen to give the 61-year-old his long-awaited comeuppance.
Ant and Dec prank
Back in September, photos emerged of Jeremy’s farm - named Diddly Squat - being invaded by protesters, and the land and buildings were seemingly vandalised by the activists.
However, it emerged that the protesters were led by none other than Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, as part of a prank for their ITV show Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, which will air on Saturday.
Since 2019, the TV star has been trying to expand his farming business, and tried to open a new restaurant on his 1,000-acre working farm in Chadlington, but faced opposition from the local council, and his disgruntled neighbours, who were furious that it has become a new tourist attraction for fans.
Jeremy works alongside farmhand Kaleb Cooper on Diddly Squat, and viewers were won over with their close working friendship that developed over the first series, which has been renewed for a second season after becoming a huge hit for the streaming service.
Horror accident
Running Diddly Squat farm has not been without its struggles for the TV star.
Last year Jeremy narrowly escaped losing his leg in an accident on his farm.
Speaking on the Jonothon Ross Show, Jeremy recalled: "I got this thing called a telehandler, it’s like a JCB thing. I thought ‘I’ll just use its front to push the post in.'
“It got halfway into the ground and the fence was leaning on it and it flicked back. How it didn’t take my leg off… I didn’t walk properly for a week. This was a quarter of a tonne of fence post.”
Stunning girlfriend
Jeremy’s girlfriend Lisa Hogan has attracted plenty of attention from viewers of his documentary series, as the blonde stunner is more than 10 years younger than The Grand Tour co-host.
The 48-year-old has been in a relationship with Jeremy for five years, and while the couple have yet to tie the knot, they’re happy being farmers in love in the Oxfordshire countryside.
Lisa, who was previously married to multimillionaire Baron Steven Bentinck, said she was drawn to Jeremy’s sense of humour when they first began dating.
“He makes me laugh,” the Irish model shared.
The couple met in 2017, and made their first public appearance together at the GQ Men of the Year Awards later that same year.
Jeremy recently shared a picture of Lisa modelling Diddly Squat merchandise while they were on holiday in an unknown tropical location, with the stunner showing off her impressive physique in a high-cut swimming costume.
“Old lady in a hat,” he cheekily captioned the snap on Instagram.
Family life
Jeremy began dating Lisa after splitting from his second wife Frances Cain, with whom he shares three children - daughters Emily and Katya, and son Finlo.
The former couple were married from 1993 but split in 2014.
While Katya and Finlo prefer to keep their lives out of the spotlight, Emily is following in her father’s footsteps.
She’s the founder and author of lifestyle blog Pretty Normal Me, and was once courted by Love Island producers, who wanted her to sign up to the ITV2 dating show.
The 27-year-old, who also hosts a podcast called Should I Delete That, and has released two books, including a book of feminist letters titled Can I Speak To Someone In Charge? recently gifted her father with an expensive present at Christmas.
“Look what my mad, brilliant and stupidly generous daughter has bought me for Christmas,” Jeremy captioned a snap of a bright red Mini with a huge bow on top.
