Clarkson’s Farm has become one of the biggest TV smashes of the decade, but it hasn’t always been plain sailing for former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, who swapped his luxurious London lifestyle six years ago to run a 1,000-acre farm.
The TV presenter has tackled failed crops, adverse weather conditions, the threat of Bovine TB and battles with local planning officials in the award-winning miniseries showcasing the day-to-day running of Diddly Squat Farm.
And with season three on the way, audiences can expect more of the same from Clarkson, 63, his farming sidekick Kaleb Cooper, Gerald Cooper and Charlie Ireland.
Speaking to The Times, the motoring journalist said: ‘Behind the scenes everything that could go wrong has gone wrong’.
The extreme weather has destroyed his potatoes and spring Barley, while his plan to replace tractors with hovercraft for the purpose of crop spraying has been an expensive disaster.
Coupled with inflation driving the prices of supplies sky high, Clarkson’s dreams for his beloved restaurant have also been dashed.
His instinct tells him to challenge officialdom, he told The Times, in a similar manner to Kevin Costner’s hard-boiled rancher on the TV series Yellowstone. And it seems he may have found a powerful ally in Rishi Sunak.
Jeremy Clarkson, 63, (pictured) takes on a new venture as he becomes a pig farmer in the upcoming series of Clarkson’s Farm
Diddly Squat Farm shop (pictured) which temporarily closed its doors during the winter months has now reopened for the summer
The farm shop featured heavily in the hit Prime Video original mini-series Clarkson’s Farm
Last May, Kaleb was invited to Downing Street to meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss the challenges faced by farmers, as well as how to get more young people into the industry.
The PM said at the time: ‘I will always back British farmers, and I pay tribute to their hard work and dedication all year round which keeps shelves stocked and food on our tables.
‘Supporting our farmers and food producers must, and always will be, at the heart of our plans to grow the economy and build a more prosperous country.
‘That’s why I’m proud to host this summit, and working together, I’m determined to build resilience, strengthen our food security and champion the best of British at home and overseas.’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) speaks with Kaleb Cooper (left) and Charlie Ireland who star in Clarkson’s Farm as they attend the Farm to Fork Summit in May 2023
The three attended the Farm to Fork Summit in the gardens of 10 Downing Street
The summit followed an announcement last year that farmers were to be given greater protections in future trade deals as part of a package of measures which aim to put ‘more British produce on supermarket shelves and plates’.
Downing Street said the Government’s initiatives, as well as putting greater emphasis on farmers’ interests during international trade negotiations, include reviewing supply chains to ensure producers are getting a fair deal and making it easier to turn properties on their land into farm shops.
Clarkson is still at war with West Oxfordshire district council, which closed his restaurant and refused a car park for his shop, but now it seems the tide could be turning in his favour.
A government-backed rule change, dubbed ‘Clarkson’s Law’, will mean farmers will no longer have to seek permission from local councils to repurpose farm buildings, which will make it easier for them to sell their produce to the public.
First look images show the TV personality, 63, reunite with his farming sidekick and Cotswolds native Kaleb Cooper , Gerald Cooper, and Cheerful Charlie Ireland, as well as his girlfriend Lisa and the rest of the Diddly Squat gang (pictured L-R Gerald, Charlie, Lisa, Kaleb and Jeremy)
Clarkson said he was thrilled by the news but told The Times that farming was still overregulated.
He said: ‘If you apply for a grant you have to fill in 2,000 forms and wait for 2,000 years for a man to come in a rented Vauxhall and tell you that you must stop what you’re doing because he has found a bat or some moss.’
There will be more of the usual chaos in season three of the TV series, which will see Clarkson channel his inner Robert De Niro with a hunting rifle, take medicinal mushrooms and also crash farming machinery into stone walls.
As well as some recognisable faces, the series will also introduce some new ones, as Jeremy welcomes a drove of pigs to his Chadlington farm and enters into the world of pig farming.
Audiences can expect more authentic and unexpected trials and tribulations as Jeremy and his band of farmers take on the latest task, after previously welcoming a herd of cows and a colony of bees to make his ‘bee juice’ honey.
The former Top Gear host has filed fresh plans to build a huge 118ft long by 59ft wide barn to store grain at the site near Chadlington, Oxfordshire
Jeremy urgently needs to come up with creative new ways of making ends meet, so hatches a plan to turn a profit from hundreds of acres of unfarmed land – thick woodland and hedgerows that make up half of Diddly Squat.
This triggers an avalanche of Clarkson-crafted schemes, involving everything from goats and pigs to mushrooms, nettles and deer.
Production has also commenced on a fourth series of the show.
Meanwhile, Diddly Squat Farm shop, announced on Facebook it will shut its doors for the next few months while adding that products will still be available to buy online.
It came as Jeremy launched a planning battle having submitted new proposals for an ‘urgent’ storage barn at the farm in Chipping Norton.
Jeremy was last year forced to close his restaurant on Diddly Squat Farm after being served with an enforcement notice from the local council – with residents claiming the establishment was causing heavy traffic.
Devastated fans took to social media to share their disappointment at the shop’s closure. One wrote: ‘Absolutely gutted you guys are shut, booked a holiday for a couple of days this week, from Lincoln to nearby to Diddly Squat Farm Shop to finally be able to visit. I guess I will have to take another holiday.’
The shop reopened as of March 1, but following grim downpours the usual bumper crowds were noticeably absent.
Season 3 of Clarkson’s Farm will land on Prime Video on May 3, the streaming service announced in February.