A former Top Gear host has blasted Jeremy Clarkson in an explosive interview, claiming the TV star was hours late for shoots and was a "massive show-off and egotist"
Top Gear was a sensationally popular motor show ran on the BBC from 1977, before being rebooted by Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May in 2002.
Steve Berry, a presenter on the original show from 1993 to 1999, has slammed Clarkson for his attitude, claiming his tardy and disrespectful behavior left crew "absolutely fuming".
In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya News, the motoring journalist told presenter Michael Prendergast that his old colleague was a “massive show-off and egotist”, which is what made him appealing to Top Gear bosses.
Berry detailed an incident where the star was over two hours late to a shoot, leaving cast and crew furious.
“The first shoot that I went along on was presented by a certain Mr Jeremy Clarkson. And I'll never forget this.
"He turned up two hours late. I turned up half an hour early because I wanted to impress. He turned up two hours late, and the crew were fuming. Absolutely fuming!
"I thought - right, make a point. Don't do that because you want the crew on your side.”
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|Clarkson presented BBC Top Gear, alongside May and Hammond
The 61-year-old presenter claimed the Clarkson's Farm star is different in real life, and that his on-screen personality is just a persona.
“So in real life, Jeremy is a less bombastic version of that person that you see on the screen," he said. "You couldn't act that persona for all the years that he has."
He then went on to allege that the Top Gear icon addressed their mutual dislike for one another and encouraged the host to pretend to get on with him for the sake of the publicity.
He said: "The last time I met him in person, there was a bar - it was at a car show and there was an open bar, and 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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Al Arabiya News
|Steve Berry broke his silence and aired his real feelings on his former co-star, Jeremy Clarkson
In 2015, Clarkson was let go by the BBC after a physical altercation with a producer occurred, it has reported that Clarkson lost his temper with a producer over the catering available after a long days filming, before punching them.
Clarkson, along with May and Hammond, who resigned in solidarity with the disgraced star, signed a contract with Amazon Prime to star in a copy-cat motor show, The Grand Tour, which ran until 2024.
“The problem with car shows is, if you look at Grand Tour or Top Gear, you have to go around the world to impress people," Berry said on The Grand Tour coming to a close. "You can't just go in the car park or in the garden or in a kitchen."
"I think Clarkson, Hammond and May quit at exactly the right time. It was just on the cusp.... some of the ideas were coming around for the second or third time"
He added that even though he did not like the Diddly Squat farm owner, he did respect him.
Clarkson went on to continue his original series, Clarkson's Farm, a television documentary series about his farm in the Cotswolds.
As well as his own show, the petrol-head also has his own cider brand called Hawkstone, whose advert was allegedly pulled by advertising regulators for being inappropriate.
Regulators reportedly pulled the plug after the advert, which features a 34-strong choir of British farmers singing a reworked rendition of the "Flower Duet", switched the lyrics for "F**k me it's good".
Clarkson accused the so-called "fun police" of refusing to allow the advertisement to air, adding: "It's a cock-up, as usual.
Hawkstone | Jeremy Clarkson features in his banned Hawkstone advertHe is now set to host Hot Seat, a spin-off of the timeless game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, previously fronted by Chris Tarrant.
Filming is set to begin this November, with a UK launch slated for 2026.