Jeremy Clarkson has lost half of his thumb while working on Clarkson’s Farm, but he has described how he survived other near-misses during his years on Top Gear.
Clarkson’s documentary series, which chronicled his efforts to manage a 1,000-acre farm in the Cotswolds, premiered in 2021.
The 62-year-old was assisted by 24-year-old farm hand Kaleb Cooper, who became a fan favourite as he helped the former Top Gear host maintain the ‘Diddly Squat’ farm.
The second season premieres next month, but before then, the new farmer has revealed further details of an incident that led to a painful injury.
Things went awry with the mandolin when I was attempting to dice potatoes for potato chips.
‘I cut half of my thumb off, but it’s all been sewn back on again now,’ he said.
‘It’s interesting that the only proper injury I’ve sustained in farming – a long-lasting one – was actually from cooking, rather than farming.
‘Which just goes to show: Gordon Ramsay’s job is more dangerous than mine.’
Jeremy’s bandaged and wounded thumb, which he photographed and posted on Instagram in December, with the caption “extremely uncomfortable now that the hospital anaesthetic has worn off.”
This isn’t the only injury he’s had since switching careers; earlier this month, he said he got his “testicles smashed” by a cow.
Taking to his column in The Sunday Times, he wrote: ‘I had a plastic bag full of cow treats, which I rattled to let the beasts know that food was in the offing, but as they’re pasture-fed, they had no interest in my nutty snacks. One of them, though, did have an interest in killing me.
‘It’s said a cow cannot kick backwards but I can testify to the fact that this isn’t true. A cow can kick in any direction. They are like Bruce Lee, only more deadly and determined because, having failed to connect with her hoofs, she went for another tack – putting her head between my legs and then raising it smartly.
‘This worked well and immediately I was on my knees in the mud with crossed eyes, trying to push the cow away. This, it turns out, is impossible. It’s like trying to push Westminster Abbey.’
He added that it was the ‘lowest point in my farming career to date’.
‘Being attacked by a cow while on my knees, in the mud, in a storm, with smashed testicles.’
Despite the fact that a third season of Clarkson’s Farm has already been announced, the host has apparently been fired by Amazon for making racist and sexist remarks about Meghan Markle in a piece.
Variety reports that after the currently-commissioned seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm, the streaming service will no longer collaborate with the TV personality.
Clarkson’s Farm season 2 is airing from February 10 on Prime Video.