Richard Osman has jokingly branded Jeremy Clarkson “a coward” ahead of the former Top Gear host’s upcoming book launch.
Clarkson’s new release, Diddly Squat: The Farmer’s Dog, hits shelves this week following the success of his bestselling Diddly Squat series about life on his Oxfordshire farm.
The timing, Osman joked, was “tactically safe” designed to maximise festive sales.
Speaking on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, the Thursday Murder Club author said: “Clarkson is bringing out another Diddly Squat and bringing it out quite close to Christmas, which is the coward’s way of bringing out a book.
“It gives you more chance of being a Christmas number one. If he had any guts at all, Clarkson, he’d have brought that out (already)… if he was any sort of a man.”
The bestselling writer and TV presenter, whose own hit mystery series continues to dominate book charts, went on to predict that artist Charlie Mackesy’s Always Remember — a follow-up to The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse — could take the top spot this year.
Osman shared: “He has a new book out which has the same characters, it’s called Always Remember, and I think it will be our Christmas number one.
“I’d like to be the biggest selling book, but just in that Christmas week, in that very, very final week, which is the big one. I hope to sell more than him because I hope to sell more than everybody.”
Last year, Guinness World Records 2025 claimed the coveted title of Christmas number one and Osman expects it to be in the running again.
He also tipped autobiographies by Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Paul Gascoigne and Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland to be among the season’s strong sellers.
The Standard has contacted Jeremy Clarkson’s rep for comment.
Meanwhile, the Clarkson’s Farm star appears to be diversifying his brand.
The outspoken farmer and broadcaster has reportedly applied to trademark the name of his fan-favourite pig, “Richard Ham”, named after his Top Gear co-host Richard Hammond.
According to The Sun, Clarkson has applied to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office to trademark the name and intends to use the name across clothes, cookbooks, homeware and Christmas decorations.
The micro pig became a breakout star in Clarkson’s Farm after the runt of the litter was spared from slaughter and hand-reared on Diddly Squat Farm.
His partner, Lisa Hogan, recently shared a video update showing the once-tiny pig now fully grown, writing: “Look who it is!!! It’s Richard ‘porker’ Ham.”
Hogan added playfully: “Yes, you’re huge. Yes, it’s because you’ve been hand-fed for all these months.”
