If you ask Jeremy Clarkson why “The Grand Tour” is finally coming to an end after nearly a decade, he has a pretty blunt answer for you. As Deadline reports, in an interview with The Times of London, Clarkson says he’s too old and out of shape to keep going, and everyone was out of ideas. That’s not exactly the kind of answer you’d typically get during a celebrity interview, but considering this is Clarkson we’re talking about, it’s not exactly a surprise.
“I’ve driven cars higher than anyone else and further north than anyone else. We’ve done everything you can do with a car. When we had meetings about what to do next, people just threw their arms in the air,” Clarkson told the Times. Considering he did 22 seasons of “Top Gear” before he got fired for punching a producer, only to hop over to Amazon to make five seasons of “The Grand Tour,” it’s understandable that they’d be out of ideas. Especially since their move to only doing specials means they’re no longer testing new cars or interviewing new celebrities.
According to Clarkson, the other challenge is that shooting specials is “immensely physical,” and he’s just not up for that now that he’s “unfit and fat and old.” He also added, “If you’re Bear Grylls you go to a hotel. There aren’t any hotels in the Sahara desert.” Which is, again, understandable, although it’s probably not the best idea to take shots at a former member of the SAS when you just admitted you’re too old and out of shape to continue doing your job.
Also, as it turns out, Clarkson’s still sensitive about his infamous Meghan Markle column, with the reporter who interviewed him claiming he was asked not to bring it up. If you remember, that was the one where he wrote about Markle, “I hate her. Not like I hate [Scottish National Party leader] Nicola Sturgeon or [British serial killer] Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level,” as well as claiming that she “obviously used some vivid bedroom promises to turn [Harry] into a warrior of woke.”
Don’t you worry, though. Clarkson’s not going to have to face any real consequences for that one. His time on “The Grand Tour” may be coming to an end, but he’s still hosting the British version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” and “Clarkson’s Farm” will continue on Prime Video.