On your bike, Jeremy! How Clarkson’s Scots road trip ended up on two wheels
HE is usually spotted behind the wheel of an exotic supercar or cruising around in a classic motor.
But Jeremy Clarkson – sacked by the BBC over a ‘fracas’ with a Top Gear producer in 2015 – has been told to get on his bike again this week while filming for the third series of Amazon series The Grand Tour.
The petrolhead and his companions, Richard Hammond and James May, have been tackling the 516-mile North Coast 500 route, which starts and finishes in Inverness and takes in some of the most spectacular scenery in the Highlands.
The trio have each chosen classic Italian cars – a Fiat X19, a Lancia Gamma and an Alfa Romeo GTV6 – and the challenge is to see which breaks down first.
Despite a social media post by Clarkson yesterday on his 58th birthday saying none of them had broken down, the camera appeared to tell a different story. An eyewitness saw Clarkson’s Alfa Romeo on an AA recovery vehicle which has been following the drivers during filming.
The same photographer, Gav Smith, snapped Clarkson frantically heading out of Golspie, Sutherland, on the A9 – riding a bike and going in the wrong direction.
The car enthusiast should have been cycling north if he wanted to catch up with Hammond and May, who had apparently continued their journey.
Fans of the show are following the stars’ progress online, while many businesses based on the route have been trying to lure the cameras to their premises.
It is believed the crew will film for a couple of days around Ullapool before returning to Inverness. Meanwhile, speculation continues about whether or not there will be a fourth series of the show.