GOT TO HAND IT TO JEZ
THEY have been hailed as the true stars of Clarkson’s Farm – straight-talking farmhand Kaleb Cooper and dry stone waller Gerald Cooper, whose thick accent has left viewers in stitches.
Even Jeremy Clarkson himself admits Gerald has stolen the show, saying: “He’s such a character. I knew he’d be great on TV.”
Clarkson’s Farm, which follows the former Top Gear presenter’s attempt to run his homestead in the Cotswolds, has become Amazon Prime’s highestrated show of all time and has been commissioned for a second series.
But viewers have fallen for Gerald, 72, branding him a “complete hero” and “legend” and setting up a fan account on Twitter, where people post their favourite clips of him.
They love how Jeremy, 61, hasn’t got a clue what he’s saying, thanks to his strong country accent, and looks blank in every conversation.
In one scene, Gerald helped the petrolhead harvest crops on his farm.
Gerald drove the combine harvester and was giving instructions to Jeremy, who was unable to understand him – meaning he fell behind and lost several of his crops.
Jeremy says of his employee: “It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand him, because he’s usually talking about Manchester United.
“He’s fantastic. We’ve known each other for a very long time.
“He’s a great dry stone waller, which is a dying art.”
While he disappeared for a bit during the pandemic with no explanation, he was back in time for the harvest.
And Jeremy revealed that Gerald, who also helps maintain walls and fences, had never missed one during his 50 years working at the 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton.
Kaleb (thought to be no relation to Gerald) has also impressed fans with his straight-talking ways.
The 22-year-old farming contractor is happy to challenge his boss, who often has problems with the Lamborghini tractor he bought for his farm, which Kaleb says is “too big”.
In one stand-out moment, Kaleb is seen giving him a dressing down when he is unable to get to grips with seeding
‘I do get angry when he makes a mistake’
crops, before walking off in frustration. It’s a brave move given the TV presenter is notorious for his own fiery temperament.
And he was even sacked by the BBC for punching a Top Gear producer after he was served a cold meat platter instead of a steak in 2015.
But Kaleb insists he deserves to be on the receiving end of his tellings-off.
He says: “It’s very difficult to work with him – he doesn’t listen to me.
“The good thing is he does have a genuine interest in the farming, but he doesn’t listen. That’s why you see me shout at him – and I do get genuinely
angry when he does make a mistake.”
But the right-hand man admits, despite his frus trastions, he is good friends with Jezza, right.
And working with m was “the best offer” of his life.
He says: “Jeremy said, ‘Do you want to farm with me?’
"It was a bit of a sur prise but it turned out to be the best offer of my life. I have never, ever sat there like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Jeremy Clarkson off of this, off of that, Top Gear and all this.’
“I just speak to him as a friend, to be honest. “He’s great. He’s a really genuine, lovely chap. “We have an amazing relationship really, we have a great laugh.” Dad-of-one Kaleb left school at 16 and, as well as working for Jeremy – who took over the farm in 2008 but only started running it properly 18 months ago – also has jobs on other holdings in the Cotswolds.
He describes himself as a “local chap” and claims to have barely left Chipping Norton.
Kaleb says he went to London once for an art trip but decided to stay on the coach.
He adds that he only goes to the nearest big town, Banbury, “at a push, if I need something desperately”.
But the success of the show means he can’t walk through Chipping Norton without people wanting to speak to him. “Now people say to me, ‘Are you going to be famous?’” he adds.
Fans also get to meet Kevin Harrison, the chairman of the National Sheep Association and a veteran sheep farmer who advises Jeremy how to farm his flock.
But it’s star man Kaleb who we could be seeing more of in the future, as he recently revealed he’d love to do more telly.
“In terms of TV, I’ve loved it. I picked it up so quickly and the crew we had here – I got on with them so well,” he said on a recent episode of This
Morning. “Not Love Island, maybe I’m A Celebrity. I’d be good on that.
“But I’m not sure, to be honest. We’ll see what the future holds.”
And it’s thought both Kaleb and Gerald will be set to return for a second season of the already super-popular Clarkson’s Farm.
A source says: “Jeremy is Amazon’s golden boy and a new series is already in the pipeline.
“It means Jeremy’s fellow farmers Kaleb and Gerald will all be in front of cameras on the farm again.”
Clarkson’s Farm is available now on Amazon Prime Video.