Jeremy Clarkson: Oafish, opinionated and very, very popular

For too many weeks now, the British people have been put through a series of collective mental tortures. Maybe the doubts about its future were hyped up a bit when Clarkson told his 7.3 million followers to “write to Amazon, it’s their decision”. Clarkson’s early motoring-magazine journalism is, oddly enough, strikingly mature and thoughtful, betraying his deep interest in engineering and history Naturally, we know what cars he likes, and owns – including Range Rovers, Mercedes-Benz dictator wagons, Bentleys and proper Alfa Romeos – and what cars he thinks were designed by someone who ate a spaniel for lunch, are a bit “gay”, and are so dull he couldn’t find anything to say. Clarkson’s Farm His public aren’t sure of it, but probably discern a certain amount of devilment and mischief in some of his stunts and self-consciously “controversial” remarks. They seem to have been forgotten in the enthusiasm for Clarkson’s Farm, but they were not so long ago, and one doubts that anyone who used the n-word now – even as sophisticated self-satire with no intention of its being broadcast; or using childishness as an excuse – would get a second chance, let alone a second series of anything.