Former Top Gear host Steve Berry has revealed he “never liked” Jeremy Clarkson, calling him a “massive show-off” and an “egotist”.
The 61-year-old, who co-hosted the BBC motoring series from 1993 to 1999, said he “never really got on” with Clarkson, 65.
The pair worked together for six years before Clarkson returned for the show’s relaunch alongside James May and Richard Hammond.
Berry claimed Clarkson was a “less bombastic” version of his onscreen persona in real life, but conceded that his personality is what makes him “unique”.
“We butted heads with each other,” the presenter told Al Arabiya News.
“Do you know what? I’ve said I don’t like him, but I respect him,” he added, saying the trio left Top Gear in 2015 at “exactly the right time”.
He went on: "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 to 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.
Berry added that Clarkson was the “leader” of the trio while he was hosting Top Gear with May and Hammond.
“Anybody who watched the ‘three amigos’ Top Gear would know there’s a hierarchy there, isn’t there,” he said.
“They’re not equal, the three of them. There’s James and there’s Richard and then there’s Jezza [Clarkson], and Jezza is the leader of the gang.”
Berry continued: "So in real life, Jeremy is a less bombastic version of that person that you see on the screen. You couldn't act that persona for all the years that he has, [but]he is kind of like that.
"Even though he and I never really got on together, the last time I met him in person, it was at a car show and there was an open bar and he said, ‘Berry, 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.’"
After Top Gear, Clarkson, Hammond and May went on to host The Grand Tour on Prime Video.
The trio ended their working relationship with the emotional finale of the series last year.
Top Gear, meanwhile, ended after a harrowing crash on set with Freddie Flintoff, who had hosted alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
