Jeremy Clarkson has revealed why he really bought the Diddly Squat Farm which has become the subject of a hit Amazon TV series.
The former Top Gear presenter, who already owned house nearby, said the financial crisis of 2008 forced a farmer to sell the land.
He bought the farm mainly because you don’t pay death duties on land.
Speaking to The Times he said: “That’s the critical thing.
“So rather than just have money in the bank, and get a statement with numbers written on it that gives no one any pleasure at all, you could derive a great deal of pleasure and pass it on to your children.”
The farm was run by a farmer called Howard until two years ago, when he retired.
Clarkson decided to takeover and his exploits were turned into the hugely popular TV show.
His partner, Lisa Hogan, also stars in the show and shared how the presenter managed to convince her to run the extremely lucrative Diddly Squat Farm Shop.
Ms Hogan, who has been dating Clarkson for five years, said the shop was a way of getting her to move her life from London.
“I think Jeremy wanted me to move down here full-time,” she said.
“But if he’d said that to me I might have just said no.
“I said I would do it but I want to be able to do what I want to do in it.”
The Diddly Squat Farm Shop has become so popular that it became the source of a local fallout between residents and Clarkson after punters queued for five hours on a country road, sparking huge traffic jams.
When the shop first opened, it made £1,000 in a day only selling potatoes.
“It makes a fair bit,” Ms Hogan admits.
