Jeremy Clarkson, the outspoken broadcaster best known for Top Gear, The Grand Tour, and the hit Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, has revealed yet another major setback in his business ventures. The 64-year-old star has confirmed that his Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer’s Dog, recently fell victim to a cyber-attack that saw criminals steal a staggering £27,000 from its accounting system.
Clarkson, who divides his time between running the Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington and managing his recently opened pub in nearby Asthall, shared the shocking news in his column for The Sun. Writing in his trademark tongue-in-cheek style, he drew attention to the fact that his loss came amid a wider spate of high-profile hacking cases.
He wrote:
“Jaguar Land Rover had to shut down its production lines this week after its systems were breached by computer hackers. And we are told similar attacks were launched in recent months on both M&S and the Co-op. But no one thought to mention that my pub, The Farmer’s Dog, has been hit too.”
He continued:
“It was, though. Someone broke into our accounting system and helped themselves to £27,000.”
While many would have been left reeling from such a financial blow, Clarkson showed his characteristic ability to find humour in misfortune. In the same column, he admitted that laughter was his coping mechanism during difficult times. “When times are tough, I always think that a good laugh helps,” he explained. “Which is why I sat down this week to watch the endlessly amusing Green Party announce its new leader. They didn’t let me down.”
A String of Troubles for Clarkson
The cyber theft is only the latest challenge in what has been a particularly turbulent year for Clarkson. Away from the pub, his farming life has also been plagued by difficulties. In recent months, he has openly warned of a potentially disastrous harvest at Diddly Squat Farm, describing the conditions as “catastrophic.”
In a column for The Times, Clarkson painted a bleak picture of the weather’s impact on his crops. He lamented:
“It looks like this year’s harvest will be catastrophic. That should be a worry for anyone who eats food. If a disaster on this scale had befallen any other industry, there would be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
He went on to describe how unpredictable weather patterns had completely upended his expectations as a farmer. “It used to be reasonably predictable, but it just isn’t anymore,” he explained. “In March, Diddly Squat had no rain at all. Not even a drop. In April, we got 20mm, which in old money is bu**er all. And so far in May, we’ve had 4mm. You couldn’t keep a window box going with a dribble like that. It’s been drier than it was in 1976.”
Despite having several natural springs scattered across his land, Clarkson admitted that none of them are positioned where they could help his struggling crops. “We do have about thirty springs on the farm,” he wrote, “but they’re all in the wrong place. So my onions and my beetroots are just sitting in the dust.”
The damage, he revealed, is widespread. “The wheat, meanwhile, is curling up, the barley won’t really get cracking at all, and I dread to think what manner of terribleness is being foisted on my poor potatoes.”
Clarkson’s Balancing Act
The former Top Gear host has spent the past few years juggling multiple business ventures — from running his farm and producing the hit series Clarkson’s Farm for Amazon Prime, to managing his Cotswolds pub and continuing his regular newspaper columns. While his ventures have often been met with both public enthusiasm and bureaucratic headaches, Clarkson has consistently documented his struggles with honesty, humour, and a sense of defiance.
The hacking scandal at The Farmer’s Dog and the looming agricultural crisis at Diddly Squat are stark reminders of just how difficult his life has become since trading cars for crops. Yet, true to form, Clarkson appears determined to face these setbacks head-on, armed with his trademark wit and sarcasm.
For now, fans can continue to follow his journey — both the triumphs and the disasters — on Clarkson’s Farm, which remains available to stream on Amazon Prime.
