The Grand Tour

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Jeremy Clarkson On His Birthday

Today’s date is April 11th, which can only mean one thing: it’s Jeremy Clarkson’s birthday! Hence, we decided to deem it the perfect moment to play a little game of “Did you know…?”. The following video (and article) lists five things you may not know about the famous host of The Grand Tour.

Did you know… Clarkson voiced a character on Pixar’s Cars?

Even if you’re not a fan of animated movies made by Pixar or DreamWorks, you probably know the flick “Cars” from 2006. Its main character, Lightening McQueen, is on his way to an important NASCAR-race in California when he gets separated from his crew and stranded in Radiator Springs, a small town off Route 66. However, you may not have noticed that Jeremy Clarkson himself did in fact voice the minor character Harv, Lightening McQueen’s agent.

Actually, you may not even noticed Clarkson’s voice because in the US-version of the movie, Harv is spoken by Jeremy Piven. Only the european version had Clarkson as an actor, and even some lines he said got changed a little.

 

Did you know… Clarkson began his career at the BBC by the early age of 12?

When Jeremy Clarkson got sacked by the BBC in 2015, it seemed like an era had ended. Actually, it kind of did. In fact, Clarkson got a role as the character Atkinson in the BBC’s radio adaption of the Jennings novels – he was 12 years old. The role didn’t last long, with Richard Hammond admitting to LDB Radio that he thought “he will have done something stupid, obviously”.

The real reason why he left so soon was very simple. His voice broke.

Did you know… Jeremy Clarkson once bought a Ford GT and  returned it, finding that it was rubbish, only to buy it back later?

Jeremy Clarkson has owned many cars – but potentially the most famous car he’s ever owned was his Ford GT. The story behind this car is quite hilarious. After Clarkson had finally got the GT after a year-long waiting time, he realized that it was in fact “the most unreliable car ever made,” much to the amusement of Hammond and May.

He returned it to Ford after a number of issues including a failed immobiliser, a wonky anti theft tracking device, and, he was simply too tall. But, shortly after, he bought it back because owning a Ford GT was a life long dream for the presenter after he missed on driving the original GT40. He eventually got rid after driving it very little.

 

Did you know… Jeremy Clarkson had in fact presented his own comedy-talk-show on BBC?

While most people know Jeremy Clarkson for his presentation of the BBC’s Top Gear, along with Richard Hammond and James May, he also had a number of less-talked about projects on the channel. From November 1998 to December 2000, he had his own comedy-talk-show called “Clarkson.” The show consisted of interviews with famous celebrities and funny anecdotes, but it got cancelled in 2000 after three seasons made up of 27 episodes, due to low ratings.             .

Did you know… Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman have known each other since school?

Jeremy Clarkson spends his life in front of the camera. But Andy wilman is the man behind it. He was the producer of Top Gear, and now produces The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm. Jeremy and Andy’s friendship runs strong, but did you actually know that Clarkson and Wilman have been friends since school? When Jeremy attended the Repton boarding school in Derbyshire, this is where he met Wilman and they quickly became friends.

Both were very much fascinated by cars and racing, which is probably why they bonded fast. To add to this, it’s said that the term, ‘The Stig’ originates from these days, too. New pupils at Repton were called ‘Stigs’, and when the pair were coming up with a name for Top Gear’s faceless racing driver, this seemed like the obvious choice.

Do you have any interesting facts about Clarkson you want to share? Do so in the comments below and have a drink on one of our most famous car-show-hosts. Happy Birthday, Jeremy Clarkson!

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5 Comments

  1. Hi hear people say he never drive the original gt40, but in sure I’ve an old Clarkson vhs where he drive a modified gt40 with a bubble on the bonnet to allow him to fit in it (it was called the GT “42”). Trying to find the clip but in positive in right.

  2. His great grandfather invented the Kilner jar. His education was financed from the precedes of the sale of Paddington Bear dolls when his mother got the contract for making them.

  3. Remember him trying to park his Escort Cosworth outside the White Horse at Parsons Green, took about 7 attempts & failed (having nudged cars in front & behind) then driving around the corner to park & getting a lot of ribbing for his “accoustic parking”

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