Vinnie Jones has refuted claims that his farm show is a rip-off of Clarkson’s Farm.
The former footballer, now known for tough guy roles in films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and She’s the Man (2006), surprised fans a few years ago with a major career pivot.
Released on Discovery+ in 2023, Vinnie Jones in the Country followed Jones, 61, as he attempts to manage a 2,000-acre farm in West Sussex. If you think the premise sounds an awful lot like Jeremy Clarkson’s mega-hit series Clarkson’s Farm, you’re not the only one.
Debuting on Prime Video two years before Vinnie Jones in the Country, and now in its fifth season, Clarkson’s Farm follows the ex-Top Gear presenter as he tries to run a 1,000-acre farm in the Cotswolds.
Both shows see their stars accompanied by a right-hand man: Paul Worby in the case of Vinnie Jones in the Country and Kaleb Cooper in Clarkson’s Farm.
Jones was asked about the similarities between the two shows in an interview with The Telegraph, during which he laughed off allegations that he ripped off Clarkson’s show.
“Two years before Clarkson’s Farm came out, I came up with the idea for my show,” he said. “I made a 30-second screener reel with my phone and I went round the BBC, ITV, Netflix, Discovery. They all said no.”
“Fast-forward two years. Clarkson’s Farm’s a hit. They’re all scrambling for outdoor shows. I was the first one to get a call. They said: ‘Have you still got that screener?’ I said, ‘Yeah. But now it’s going to f***ing cost you!’”
Vinnie Jones in the Country has been cancelled after airing its third season in February.
It is not the first time that the former Wimbledon FC defender has addressed the similarities, previously telling The Radio Times in February that he finds the comparisons “upsetting”.
He told the publication: “Jeremy’s done a fantastic job raising awareness for farmers, but ours is a different little show. It’s a show without an agenda, and it’s not a farm show – it’s an in-the-country show.”
Elsewhere in the interview with The Telegraph, Jones reiterated his disinterest in politics and revealed that he has never voted in his life.
“I’ve got dual UK and US citizenship, and I’ve never voted in either country,” he said.
Asked whether he has even considered it, Jones replied: “It’s frightening. There is nothing worse than a bloke trying to fake his intelligence. So I’m not going to sit here and talk to you about politics.”
Unlike his friends who “are so hooked up on” politics that they are “frothing at the mouth”, he said his own interest in the subject is “minus-zero”.
“I don’t understand it, and I want nothing to do with it,” said Jones, who is 14 years sober.
Asked whether he is a Conservative, as many people believe him to be, The Gentleman star said: “In the old days, growing up you would think, ‘I like Conservatives [because] they like farmers and gamekeepers.’
“They felt like our team, and we’re taught teams at school, aren’t we? Your clan against their clan. It’s bred into us. You go with one lot because they’ll protect gamekeepers [like Jones’s father, Peter] and gillies. But if they think they can get three more votes from another group, they’ll cut your support.”
