‘I live in Chipping Norton and this is what locals really think of Jeremy Clarkson’

Jeremy Clarkson has owned Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton since 2008, but it was only in 2021 he decided to fully invest his time on his Cotswolds farm and launch Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm. Since then, Jeremy has gone on to purchase his own pub, The Farmer’s Dog, close to Asthall, along with opening his own farm shop and on-site restaurant.

But over the years, he’s been in public rows with the local council. From the traffic snaking out of his farm and into the neighbouring villages to arguing over a local “dogging spot”, his time in Chipping Norton has been mired in controversy. So what do the locals really think of the former Top Gear presenter moving his TV career to the rural spot?

Express.co.uk asked local residents on Facebook their opinions – and the response was overwhelmingly positive. One resident said: “He’s entertaining the nation, he’s bringing national and international tourists to the area, who then support businesses elsewhere - and he is supporting our local farmers whom I know personally.

“And if he succeeds in getting rid of the most unfair tax of all - inheritance tax - then I’d support a knighthood.”

Another local said: “The town still has a lido because of Jeremy and the fundraising he does!”

The local lido was at risk of closure until the Keeping Our Pool Open and Chipping Norton Lido Limited stepped up their fundraising efforts, with the help of Jeremy, who drove a car into the pool to help promote it on an episode of Top Gear.

In 2005 he held an Auction of Promises to raise money for it and managed to drive a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow into the water.

Another local told us: “I agree he’s done amazing things and highlighted farming struggles along with promoting local produce.”

While another said: “He’s done a lot for Chipping Norton […] Leave Jeremy alone and give him a knighthood!”