Jeremy Clarkson opens up on ‘disaster’ at Diddly Squat Farm after receiving unwanted gifts
Jeremy Clarkson has opened up about the ‘disasters’ that have taken place on his Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds, which have been seen on his Amazon Prime show
Television personality Jeremy Clarkson has confessed that certain aspects of managing his own farm have proved to be a “disaster,” as he has yet to experience a single typical year since taking control of Diddly Squat Farm.
The ex-Top Gear host initially acquired the Oxfordshire property in 2008 but only began personally managing it in 2019.
Since then, he has allowed film crews to document daily activities as he attempts to master running the 1,000-acre agricultural operation with assistance from various specialists.
The fourth instalment of the enormously popular Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm was broadcast earlier this year, though the journey has been anything but smooth.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he explained: “We are gifted every year by something. Year one we had Covid in the middle of it. Nobody could have seen that coming.
“Year two, West Oxfordshire Council became a little bit difficult and gave us a really good story beat. They banned me from setting up a restaurant on the farm. Nobody could have seen that one coming.
“Then there was year three, when all the pigs died. Then in year four it simply didn’t stop raining. This year it hasn’t started. There hasn’t been one normal year.
“Sometimes you think, OK, this is an unbelievable disaster, but on the other hand it will amuse the viewers. But it’s not like The Grand Tour, where you’d set things up.”
Earlier this year, Jeremy revealed that bovine tuberculosis had been detected at Diddly Squat Farm.
He told Times Radio that a vet had made the troubling discovery. He subsequently posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.”
It is understood that due to the outbreak, at least one animal — a cow expecting twins — tragically had to be put down to prevent the disease from spreading further.
In other news, it was recently confirmed that Jeremy has permanently parted ways with his colleagues on The Grand Tour, Richard Hammond and James May.
The trio shot to stardom when they began hosting the BBC’s flagship motoring show Top Gear in 2002. Their collaborative television projects were overseen by W Chump and Sons, which has operated since 2015 under producer Andy Wilman’s leadership.
Paperwork submitted to Companies House this month disclosed the “voluntary winding up” of the business, which concluded with just over £24 million remaining in its coffers. This would mean around £6 million apiece if the funds were divided equally among the four individuals.
Jeremy is set to return to television screens this evening (Friday, September 19) as he hosts a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Celebrity Special, with TV presenter Steph McGovern and former footballer Dion Dublin attempting to secure the £1 million prize for their chosen charities.
