Jeremy Clarkson asks Piers Morgan for help 21 years after punching him
Jeremy Clarkson turns to Piers Morgan for advice when buying The Farmer's Dog pub on Clarkson's Farm, despite their previous feud.
The farmer calls the ex-Good Morning Britain host his "dear friend for decades" when he comes to him for tips on being a pub landlord in episode five of the Prime Video series, released on Friday.
Their disagreements have played out very publicly in the spotlight. It was headline news in 2004 when Clarkson punched Morgan at the British Press Awards.
A decade later, Clarkson recalled the incident saying Morgan had written "unpleasant stories" about him and thought it was a "joke" which fuelled him to punch him three times.
He wrote in The Times in 2014: "'Why's your f****** wife looking at me like that?' he [Morgan] thundered. So I punched him. And then I punched him again. And then I thought: 'You know what? I don't think this would ever get boring.' So I punched him again. And, annoyingly, broke my finger."
In another incident on the very last flight of Concorde into London where Clarkson poured water over Morgan's crotch and then told journalists on the steps: "Look...The idiot's wet himself"
Fast forward to now, they have made up and Clarkson asks Morgan for his help. The surprising scene plays out on the Prime Video series. The presenter explains he was reaching out to "various mates" to make sure he wasn't making a "big mistake" with the pub.
In the voiceover, Clarkson says: "I started with a chap who has been a dear friend for decades."
So it may surprise Clarkson's Farm viewers to find out this person is in fact Morgan. They video call one morning to catch up before Clarkson signs on the dotted line for The Farmer's Dog which at the time was known as The Windmill.
"Morning is that you?" He says in episode five. "Have you got any advice?" And it turns out Morgan does have some good advice, having previously bought pub Hansom Cab on Earl's Court Road, Kensington, West London in 2010.
Watch Clarkson's Farm season four trailer below
The TV personality has a brutal warning for Clarkson about theft that happens at pubs.
He tells him: "People steal stuff from pubs. Every publican will tell you. They'll nick the salt and pepper pots. They'll nick knives and forks. They might even nick plates. They'll nick any art they can rip off the walls."
The journalist's words prove to be true as Clarkson has since spoken about the theft he has experienced at The Farmer's Dog. He revealed 104 glasses were stolen on one Sunday last year. In the new year, Clarkson unveiled a plan to tackle the thefts at The Farmer's Dog.
Morgan isn't the only celebrity friend who gives Clarkson advice ahead of The Farmer's Dog opening in August last year.
Singer James Blunt, who owns The Fox & Pheasant pub in London's Chelsea, had some words of warning too. He tells Clarkson in new scenes: "Obviously drink driving is an issue. In the countryside. That's why you want it in a central hub somewhere so there's a mass of people so they can walk home or people can easily get taxis home."
Clarkson replies: "It's near no building of any sort. The nearest village is five miles away."
Blunt makes light of the bad situation saying: "Maybe if you're lucky they'll relax the drink driving laws!"
He also points out that there can be issues with staffing. Blunt adds: "Staffing is so tricky nowadays because people just don't want to work those kind of hours. It's hard work. Normally they're overseas labourers. So again, as long as Brexit doesn't go through you'll be fine as well."
Film director Guy Ritchie, who owns pubs Lore of the Land in Fitzrovia and The Punchbowl in Mayfair, calls Clarkson to share some words of wisdom. He says: "You'll look at it. It looks like you're making £50k a week and then it transpires that you are losing £10k a week."
And of course, Clarkson's long-time friend and former The Grand Tour co-host James May makes an appearance. May has had the pub The Royal Oak in the Wiltshire countryside for some time. His warning was all about the hidden costs.
May says: "Energy costs. Staff costs. Ingredients costs. Building maintenance costs. Insurance costs. Accountancy costs. Lawn keeping costs. Re-thatching costs in my case. Gravelling costs. Mending the car park costs. Staff costs if I haven't said that already."
Off-screen, May spoke about this moment to Yahoo UK in October 2024.
"He did ask me [for advice] and I said 'don't do it if you're thinking of it as a business venture because you don't make any money,'" May told Yahoo UK. "I haven't talked to him about it recently but I got the impression that he was having quite a bit of trouble and losing quite a bit of money, which is how it tends to go, certainly to begin with.
"But, I mean, he does have an advantage. He's got a big pub and a big car park, we're very strangled on our car park, and obviously he's a very popular bloke and people are very interested to go and try his pub, so if he can't make it work he's a bit of a f***wit really."
Clarkson's Farm season four episodes five and six are now available to stream on Prime Video from Friday.
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