Jeremy Clarkson was a central figure on the BBC’s Top Gear for more than 20 years, sharing the screen with Richard Hammond and James May. The trio left the iconic motoring show in 2015 to launch Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour, which concluded last year.
Before Richard and James joined the revived Top Gear lineup, Clarkson appeared alongside presenter Steve Berry on the original Top Gear format, which ran from 1993 to 1999. Recently, Steve reflected on his experiences working with Jeremy and shared insights into what Clarkson is really like off-screen.
In a candid interview with Al Arabiya News, Steve described Clarkson as less bombastic in real life than his on-screen persona suggests. He said, “You couldn’t sustain that persona for all those years if it weren’t part of who he really is. But even though Jeremy and I never really got on, the last time we met was at a car show with an open bar. He said, ‘Barry, people know we don’t like each other. I’ll buy you a pint and we’ll stand over there pretending we like each other.’”
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Steve also spoke about the natural end of the Clarkson-Hammond-May era. He believes the trio quit at just the right time, as some of their show’s ideas had begun to feel repetitive. “It was still engaging to watch,” he said, “but when they quit, I thought it was perfect timing.”
While Jeremy’s days of motoring adventures may be behind him, he continues to captivate audiences through his new venture, Clarkson’s Farm. Since 2021, viewers have followed the 65-year-old as he navigates farming challenges in West Oxfordshire, including running a farm-to-table restaurant and opening a pub.
Clarkson recently admitted that launching the pub was far more difficult than he anticipated. “Honestly, it was much, much harder,” he revealed. “There are so many things that you discover about running a pub that you wouldn’t even consider. I like hard work. If I don’t do something constructive in a day, I can’t get to sleep that night. But that was silly, and it did actually mess my heart up.”
Jeremy’s representative has been contacted but has yet to comment on Steve Berry’s remarks.