Background

Jeremy Clarkson was born on April 11, 1960, in Doncaster, England, United Kingdom. His parents were Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson (1934–2014), a teacher, and Edward Grenville Clarkson (1932–1994), a traveling salesman. His parents ran a business selling tea cozies from their hometown of Doncaster. After branching out into selling Paddington Bear toys, they became more successful and this enabled Jeremy Clarkson to go to Repton public school.

Education

Jeremy Clarkson attended Repton School, where he experienced extreme bullying and was deeply unhappy. Clarkson was expelled from Repton School after "drinking, smoking and generally making a nuisance of himself." At a young age, however, he was making money by voicing Atkinson, a public schoolboy from the Children’s Hour serial adaptation of Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings novels for the BBC. This ended once his voice broke.

When he returned home from his expulsion his parents were obviously angry. He said: "They were so cross with me, but I knew something would come along. Something always comes along. It does in my life, anyway."

In 2005, Clarkson received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Oxford Brookes University. The honor had been criticized by green campaigners who said he had a poor stance on the environment.

Career

Clarkson's first job was as a travelling salesman for his parents' business, selling Paddington Bear toys. He later trained as a journalist with the Rotherham Advertiser, before also writing for the Rochdale Observer, Wolverhampton Express and Star, Lincolnshire Life, Shropshire Star, and the Associated Kent Newspapers.

In 1984, he formed a motoring agency, Motoring Press Agency, with journalist Jonathan Gill. This involved doing road tests of cars; this later led to writing pieces for Performance Car. His journalistic talents later gained him contracts for the Sun and Sunday Times. With his acerbic wit and bold reviews, Clarkson rarely sits on the fence but makes his view known very clearly.

On October 27, 1988, Clarkson was invited to be one of the presenters for the British motoring program Top Gear. Despite a break between 2000 and 2002, this has been one of the longest-running motoring shows and with his co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond, Top Gear has become one of the most-watched TV shows on BBC Two.

In addition to a career as a motoring journalist and presenter, Clarkson has presented documentaries on Science, military and Inventions that Changed the world. In the BBC program – Great 100 Britons, Clarkson championed Isambard Kingdom Brunel and prominent engineer in the industrial revolution.

In March 2016 Clarkson was sacked by the BBC which spelled the end of his time on Top Gear. Clarkson has now teamed up with May and Hammond for a brand new Amazon Prime show called The Grand Tour.

On 9 March 2018, it was announced that Clarkson would host a revamped series of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on ITV. The show had previously been presented by Chris Tarrant.

Jeremy is also an author of several books on cars and other matters. Many of his books are collections of articles that he has written for The Sunday Times.

Achievements

• Jeremy Clarkson is most famous for presenting Top Gear from 2002 to 2015 and The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime. Jeremy Clarkson was ranked 49th on Motor Trend Magazine's Power List for 20.
  
  Jeremy Clarkson and James May were the first people to reach the North Pole in a car, which was broadcast in a Top Gear special on the 25th of July 2007 on BBC Two.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Is It Really Too Much To Ask?

    (Well, someone's got to do it: in a world which simply wil...)

    2013
  • Jeremy Clarkson on Ferrari

    (According to an article in The Independent, Clarkson said...)

    2000
  • And Another Thing

    (In And Another Thing the outspoken and outrageous present...)

    2006
  • Don't Stop Me Now

    (Jeremy Clarkson puts the pedal to the floor in Don't Stop...)

    2007
  • How Hard Can It Be?

    (How Hard Can it Be? is the fourth hilarious volume in Jer...)

  • If You’d Just Let Me Finish

    (Clarkson is back with a brand new book of hilarious stori...)

    2018
  • Motorworld

    (Jeremy Clarkson invites us to Motorworld, his take on dif...)

    1996
  • Clarkson on Cars

    (Jeremy Clarkson gets under the bonnet in Clarkson on Cars...)

    1996
  • The Top Gear Years

    (The Top Gear Years brings together Jeremy Clarkson's coll...)

    2012
  • The World According to Clarkson

    (Jeremy Clarkson shares his opinions on just about everyth...)

    2004
  • I Know You Got Soul

    (In I Know You Got Soul, Jeremy Clarkson writes about the ...)

    2005
  • Born to be Riled

    (Born to be Riled is a collection of hilarious vintage jou...)

    1999
  • For Crying Out Loud

    (Jeremy Clarkson shares his opinions on just about everyth...)

    2008
  • Jeremy Clarkson's Hot 100 : Cars That Make You Go Phwoar!

    (A guide to Jeremy Clarkson's 100 favorite cars with 150 c...)

    1997
  • Round the Bend

    (Jeremy Clarkson gets really riled in Round the Bend. What...)

  • Driven to Distraction

    (Jeremy Clarkson is once more Driven to Distraction. Brace...)

    2009
  • What Could Possibly Go Wrong...

    (What Could Possibly Go Wrong... is the sixth book in Jere...)

    2014
  • As I Was Saying...

    (As I Was Saying ... is the seventh book in Jeremy Clarkso...)

    2015

• movie

  • Unleashed On Cars

    (In this release, Clarkson drives the following vehicles: ...)

  • Clarkson: Heaven & Hell

    (British personality Jeremy Clarkson, the host of Top Gear...)

    2005
  • Jeremy Clarkson

    (Jeremy Clarkson, the Peter Pan of motor car-related telev...)

    1999
  • Clarkson: The Good The Bad The Ugly

    (Clarkson goes West in an attempt to find the ultimate/hal...)

    2006
  • Hot Metal

    (Clarkson compares the best and fastest vehicles from the ...)

    2004
  • Clarkson Supercar Showdown

    (Clarkson takes us on a tour to find the ultimate European...)

    2007
  • Clarkson the Italian Job

    (Jeremy Clarkson travels around Italy to find the perfect ...)

    2010
  • Clarkson Duel

    (It all about challenges and some big questions. Which car...)

    2009
  • Jeremy Clarkson 1997
  • At Full Throttle 2000
  • No Limits 2002
  • Clarkson - Thriller 2008
  • Clarkson Powered Up 2011

• TV series

  • The Grand Tour Season 2

    (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return for...)

    2018
  • The Grand Tour - Season 3

    (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are back ...)

    2019
  • Top Gear

    (Review exclusive and state of the art vehicles and the ca...)

  • The Grand Tour Season 1

    (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are back w...)

    2016

Religion

Jeremy Clarkson is an atheist. In the final piece in "For Crying Out Loud", titled "Unhand my patio heater, archbishop", he writes: "I genuinely believe we are born with a moral compass and we don't need it reset every Sunday morning by some weird-beard communist in a dress. I am, as you may have gathered, completely irreligious, but it doesn't stop me trying to be kind to others [...] Morally, the world would be no worse if religion were abolished. Practically, it would be much, much better."

Politics

Partly because of his friendship with Cameron and his dismissal of former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a "one-eyed Scottish idiot", for which he later apologised after a barrage of criticism, it is often assumed that Clarkson is a Conservative, but he rarely comments on party-political issues. His role is seen by some as more of a tribune of disgruntled middle England.

Jeremy Clarkson says he could never be prime minister because he is always contradicting himself. The broadcaster said the government should be in charge of "building park benches and nothing else."

Clarkson is a supporter of the European Union. He spoke out against Brexit, stating that while the European Union has its problems, Britain would not have any influence over the EU, should it leave the Union. He envisions the European Union being turned into a US-like "United States of Europe", with one army, one currency, and one unifying set of values.

In 2017, in response to the United States officially recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Clarkson advised Palestinians to recognize London as the capital of the United States.

Views

A smoker since his school days, Clarkson has campaigned against the ban in enclosed public places, including bars, and is a frequent critic of bus lanes and the European Union.

When questioned about taking responsibility for the influence he had as a journalist, Clarkson argued that he had no influence. "When I said that the Ford Orion was the worst car ever it went on to become a bestselling car," he said.

Clarkson also spoke in support of hydrogen cars, arguing they could be the future of motoring over and above electric cars and growing crops to make fuel.

The journalist spoke out against eco-minded and green organizations. He is convinced that the "eco-mentalists" are a by-product of the "old trade unionists and CND lesbians" who had found a more relevant cause - but "loves the destination" of environmentalism and believes that people should quietly strive to be more eco-friendly.

Jeremy Clarkson criticized Greta Thunberg. In his column, Jeremy acknowledged the seriousness of climate change, but said Greta could do far more by studying science at school than lecturing her elders. In his column, Jeremy acknowledged the seriousness of climate change, but said Greta could do far more by studying science at school than lecturing her elders. He concluded: "Many thousands of people who you had the temerity to blame this week are trying to do exactly what you want. So be a good girl, shut up and let them get on with it."

Clarkson has often been involved in controversy over perceived ‘racist’ remarks. In 2014, he was caught on tape repeating a nursery rhyme that contained a racist word. Although he mumbled the word, he later apologized. BBC bosses gave him a final warning after over similar situations.

In March 2015, he was involved in a ‘fracas’ with a BBC producer whilst filming Top Gear. After a BBC investigation, Clarkson was sacked because of evidence he punched a producer. After leaving the BBC Clarkson and the other Top Gear team presenters of Richard Hammond and James May were signed by Amazon to launch a new tv series Grand Tour.

Quotations: "Cars. To some, they're just transport. A convenient alternative to highly-flammable dirigibles or walking. But you - you understand that cars are far more than this. They are our history. They mark the moments by which we define decades. Cars are some of the most intoxicating, most beautiful things ever forged by mankind."

"Nothing can prepare you for the yawning chasm of time that passes in Canada before the healthcare system actually does any healthcare."

"Fame is almost constant pain."

"I was never allowed to play with guns when I was a child. While various friends were able to scamper around the woods with their Johnny Sevens, I had to make do with an old twig. And convincing an eight-year-old he was dead simply because I'd pointed a piece of larch his way was not quite as easy as you might imagine."

"The best way to experience this car is to be about seven miles away. As it comes toward you, it's like being in a horror movie. The monster is getting closer. The Thing. The Blob. Terror has no shape. But God, what a noise."

"There's one other thing too. No car can truly be great unless it's a Ferrari."

"You get the picture. And so did BMW. When they bought the company they could have fitted a new body to one of their 7 Series. That's what Mercedes did to create the Maybach. But instead of wandering around the BMW spare-parts division saying, "What do we want?" the engineers fired up their computers and asked, "What do we need?". Plainly they looked at what Henry Royce and Charles Rolls were trying to achieve a hundred years ago, and thought, "Zis is vot ve must do also." And as a result the Rolls-Royce Phantom is quite simply the best car in the world."

Membership

• 

  At the end of 2007, Clarkson became a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities to wounded British servicemen.

  Help for Heroes , United Kingdom

  2007 - present

Personality

Typically, his outspoken nature has won him both admirers and detractors, but Jeremy Clarkson claims people shouldn’t take him too seriously.

Clarkson is now a regular attender of Chelsea matches but didn't always express enthusiasm for football.

Clarkson is a fan of the progressive rock band Genesis and attended the band's reunion concert at Twickenham Stadium in 2007. He also provided sleeve notes for the reissue of the album Selling England by the Pound as part of the Genesis 1970–1975 box set.

Jeremy Clarkson possesses several cars, including Volvo XC90, Range Rover TDV8 Vogue SE, Lotus Elise 111S, Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser, Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG, BMW 3.0L CSL, Honda CR-X, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Ford Focus, Ford Cortina, Jaguar XJR, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Volkswagen Scirocco 2, and Toyota Land Cruiser.

He is a fan of the rock bands Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Curved Air. He named his favorite albums as "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac, "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd and "Crime of the Century" by Supertramp. He also provided sleeve notes for the reissue of the Genesis album "Selling England by the Pound."

Physical Characteristics: Jeremy has curly, grey hair, a long oval-shaped face, a wide forehead, large, dark blue wide-spaced eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a thin nose and a narrow jaw with a pointed chin.

He usually is seen wearing a codpiece, blue jeans with suit jackets or leather jackets and shirts. He is seen very rarely in informal t-shirts and he uses them only during their long trips (in Top Gear specials, for example).

Quotes from others about the person

• "Jeremy Clarkson fans have never killed anybody because of flippant remarks he's made on TV, fact." - James Delingpole

Interests

• Politicians

  Margaret Thatcher

• Sport & Clubs

  football, Chelsea

• Music & Bands

  Genesis, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Curved Air

Connections

Clarkson married Alex Hall in 1989, but she left him for one of his friends after six months. In May 1993, he married his manager, Frances Cain. The couple lived in Chipping Norton, in the Cotswolds, with their three children - Emily, Finlo and Katya.

Father:

Edward Grenville Clarkson

Mother:

Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson

Wife:

Alex Hall

Wife:

Frances Cain

Daughter:

Emily Clarkson

Son:

Finlo Clarkson

Daughter:

Katya Clarkson

Sister:

Joanna Higton

Friend:

Adrian Anthony Gill

Adrian Anthony Gill is a close friend of Jeremy Clarkson.

Friend:

David Cameron

David Cameron has backed Jeremy Clarkson as it was claimed the suspended Top Gear host was involved in a “scuffle” with a BBC producer because he was offered a cold meat platter instead of a steak.

Cameron praised Clarkson as a "huge talent" and told BBC Midlands Today he hoped the situation could be resolved so his children would not be left "heartbroken".

colleague:

Richard Hammond

Richard Hammond hosted car programs Top Gear and The Grand Tour together with Jeremy Clarkson.

colleague:

James May

James May a co-presenter of the motoring programs Top Gear and The Grand Tour alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.

References

• Jeremy Clarkson: Motormouth
  2014
• Jeremy Clarkson: The Biography