Jeremy Clarkson issued a stark warning to a fellow celebrity about taking on a major new career opportunity, as the former Top Gear presenter suggested she would be “hated”
Jeremy Clarkson’s outspoken television persona is well documented. According to one celebrity who has worked with him, though, he is very different away from the cameras – and he gave her some dire advice to warn her off a career move.
Catwalk model Jodie Kidd first became friends with Clarkson when she appeared on Top Gear’s ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’ segment back in 2003. The section of the show sees a celebrity drive around a lap of the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
Jodie’s 1 minute 48 second lap, completed in a Suzuki Liana, made her the quickest celebrity at the time. She is now ranked the 11th fastest.
The 48-year-old admitted this “opened up a whole new world” that she “dived straight in” and hasn’t left over the last 23 years. It even opened up the possibility of Jodie being one of the presenters to replace Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
The BBC sacked Clarkson after he punched producer Oisin Tymon in March 2015. Hammond and May also quit the BBC as a show of solidarity, along with Clarkson’s co-creator Andy Wilman.
Back in 2015, Jodie was one of the bookmakers favourites to replace the popular trio. In the end, radio DJ Chris Evans and former Friends star Matt LeBlanc were announced as the presenters, along with Chris Harris, Sabine Schmitz, Rory Reid and Eddie Jordan.
Jodie told the Cars & Money YouTube channel that she asked Clarkson for advice about the possibility of replacing him, the iconic presenter issued her with a stark warning. He said she would be “hated” by fans, irrespective of how good a job she did.
She said: “There was talks (of hosting the show), but I obviously got a very close relationship with Jezza from that moment onwards, and he became a very good friend, and when they left, there was names bouncing around, I was one of them.
“There was initial talks, but I spoke to him and he was like: ‘Look, Jodes, you can go and do the best job, you can do an amazing film, you’ll be a great host, but you’re going to get hated. It’s going to be a tough, tough job.'”
Jodie also cited the stick Chris Evans received, with the former Big Breakfast presenter quitting after just one season after the negative reaction.
She said: “When Chris (Evans) took over, it was a very tough gig, to go in, and replace those three. No one is ever going to replace those three.
“People hate change, and especially such a brilliant dynamic the three of them had. I think there was still a lot of negativity with how Jezza departed from the BBC.”
The BBC confirmed Top Gear will be returning to TV after an extended hiatus following Andrew Flintoff’s horror car crash. The former cricketer was airlifted to hospital and almost died following the the incident at the Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in December 2022.
Jodie was asked whether she would consider being one of the new presenters for the rebooted show.
The model admitted it would mean consigning her beloved YouTube channel to the back burner. Kidd in a Sweet Shop sees the model indulge her love of fast cars.
She said: “I love Kidd in a Sweet Shop. I’ve worked so hard to get that up and to get that you know where it is today. Obviously if I was to do Top Gear, it would be something that I’d have to have to put to bed, which I don’t really want to do.
“So, I don’t know. But, you know, it’s one of those things that that it is an incredible show and I really think that people miss a Sunday night terrestrial car show.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
