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Top Gear’s former presenter Steve Berry has opened up about the long-standing tension between him and Jeremy Clarkson, revealing that they “never got along” during their time on the hit BBC show.
In a candid chat with Al Arabiya News, the 61-year-old motoring journalist didn’t sugarcoat his thoughts on Clarkson.
He called Clarkson “selfish” but admitted that’s exactly what made him a standout for Top Gear bosses.
He also recalled how things went from day one,“The first shoot that I went along on was presented by a certain Mr. Jeremy Clarkson.
And I’ll never forget this, he turned up two hours late. I turned up half an hour early because I wanted to impress.”
The star went on adding,” he turned up two hours late and the crew were fuming. Absolutely fuming. I thought. ‘Right, make a point, don’t do that because you want the crew on your side.’”
Berry said Clarkson’s bold TV image wasn’t just for the camera, “You couldn’t act that persona for all the years that he has. He is kind of like that, and like I said, even though he and I never really got on together.”
Talking about the last time they crossed paths, Berry shared a brutally honest exchange. “The last time I met him in person, there was a bar, it was at a car show and there was an open bar and he said: ‘Berry, people know we don’t like each other, I’ll buy you a pint and we’ll stand over there pretending we like each other.’”
He also admitted that Top Gear started losing ground once Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond moved to Amazon for The Grand Tour.
“The problem with car shows is, if you looked at Grand Tour or Top Gear, you have to go around the world to impress people. You can’t just go in the car park or in the garden or in a kitchen. You have to like the salt flats in Namibia or the North Pole or somewhere like that. Or else people are like, ‘oh, well, this isn’t as good as the Grand Tour.’ They set a standard.”
Despite their differences, Berry said he had respect for Clarkson.
