Jeremy Clarkson’s Amazon farm show has been hailed as “brilliant” for the agricultural industry by ‘Countryfile’ host Matt Baker.
The former ‘Top Gear’ presenter, 64, has been attacked by some for making light of the business by showcasing his regularly chaotic attempts to run his Diddly Squat farm near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds on his ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ series.
But ex-‘Blue Peter’ host Matt, 46, who lives on a farm in Hertfordshire with his wife Nicola Mooney and their two children, Luke and Molly, has declared Jeremy is drawing a “new audience to rural TV”.
He was quoted by the Daily Star saying: “For Clarkson to come into this world and question it and say, ‘What’s happened to this? Why is this like this?’ – those are brilliant questions that actually need answering.
“He’s brought a whole new audience to rural TV.”
Jeremy, who also fronts ITV’s ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ host, bought his farm in 2008 but only took over the running of the land in 2019 when the local villager who had been maintaining the farm retired.
He renamed the Sarsden estate Diddly Squat and has been documenting his attempts to turn profits from the 1,000-acre plot for Amazon since June 2021.
His ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ series was renewed for a fourth run in November last year.
Matt has hosted ‘Countryfile’ since 2009 and has also presented ‘Our Dream Farm’, which featured him searching for new applicants to take on a ten year lease at Gallows Hill Farm on the National Trust’s Wallington estate.
He regularly keeps fans updated on his farm and livestock, which include chickens and sheep.
Matt also said about Jeremy bringing farming into the mainstream: “He’s effectively come to this world and he’s realising and noticing things that those who are experienced have just learned to deal with, but I think highlighting those issues is really important.”
