Jeremy Clarkson has complained about never having been nominated for a Bafta, blaming the situation on his friendship with David Cameron.
Since being dropped by the BBC’sTop Gear in 2015, the presenter, 61, has co-hosted four series of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video and recently fronted an agriculture documentary, Clarkson’s Farm, where he works as a farmer on his own land.
The series has been a hit with many, and led sheep farmer and author James Rebanks to say that Clarkson had done “more for farmers in one series than Countryfile achieved in 30 years”.
In a new interview with The Guardian, when asked if he thinks he could win an OBE, Clarkson replied: “You’re very sweet. But I’m more annoyed I’ve never won a Bafta. I’ve done some bloody good shows over the years: a good one on Brunel and some military documentaries.
“You’d think the Bafta committee might think, ‘We should at least nominate him. Drag him to London to disappoint him.’ But as soon as the newspapers say, ‘Jeremy Clarkson, friend of David Cameron’, that’s it: ‘He’s not having a Bafta.’”
Clarkson and Cameron have been friends for many years. The then-prime minister backed Clarkson after he was suspended from Top Gear.
The suspension came after Clarkson punched a BBC producer because he was offered a cold meat platter instead of a steak.
Cameron praised Clarkson as a “huge talent” at the time and said he hoped the situation could be resolved so his children would not be left “heartbroken”.
