Jeremy Clarkson shared his view on his Clarkson’s Farm co-stars Sue and Rachel Hawkins after they were branded “rude” by viewers.
The former Top Gear host, 65, hired the pub consultants to help him turn around his new Cotswolds pub, The Farmer’s Dog, in the fourth series of the hit Prime Video show.
He ended up clashing with the aunt and niece, however, when they laid out their plans to buy three huge umbrellas costing £40,000 for the outdoor deck area.
“First on our list, covering the deck with some jumbrellas,” Rachel told Clarkson during episode six. “We needed to sign it off about 40 minutes to guarantee them arriving.
“(They're) three enormous umbrellas to cover the entire deck, approximately £40,000.”
The Grand Tour star looked baffled, replying: “Sorry, you're saying words... £40,000 for three umbrellas. £40,000 for three umbrellas! I'm well aware we need umbrellas, I know that, but I really genuinely believe that's nuts.”
Rachel explained: “What we were trying to avoid is... because we could cover that deck a lot more cheaply with a parasol-type situation but given the size of the deck, we would need probably 50. So it would look like a sea of umbrellas.”
Clarkson held his head in his hands and asked: “How have I come around to this point? I just cannot believe I'm 64 and someone has just said to me the price of the umbrellas is £40,000. You can buy a Golf GTI for that.”
He eventually rejected the request after it emerged that the price of the decking had more than doubled.
The motoring journalist opted for a canopy instead, but later admitted it made the dining room “unbelievably dark” and confessed: “That could be an expensive mistake.”
Clarkson and his consultants later clashed again over the pub and the duo quit the project 48 hours before The Farmer’s Dog grand opening.
It appears there’s no bad blood between the trio, however, as Clarkson has since admitted Sue and Rachel “had a point” about the umbrellas.
He shared a photo of the huge umbrellas covering the decking at the back of the pub on Instagram on Tuesday and wrote: "Turns out Sue and Rachel had a point. @thefarmersdogpub did need big umbrellas after all!!"
While the broadcaster had only good things to say about his former co-stars, viewers shared their disapproval for the duo in the comments.
“They were f’ing rude and came across as snobby bleeps,” one wrote, as another added: “But, they blamed you for a pub they could not manage despite the fact they were responsible for setting it up, then jumped ship.”
A third posted: “Shame they bailed on you when push came to shove. We can all launch a pub when things go smoothly, it’s when things are tough that you needed them. The chef, Nick was a good example. Kept his head but told you how it was and stuck with it!”
Another user commented: “I feel this post it to try and halt the backlash the pair have been getting from the show, umbrellas do however look great. Best show I’ve watched in ages.”
