As former Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson continues to thrive with his newfound farm and pub, one of his fellow co-stars has also broken into the brewing business
Top Gear stunt driver The Stig has started his own ‘Poundland Clarkson’s Farm’ — making cider. Ben Collins played the hit BBC show’s secret speed king when it was hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.
Since being shown the door by the Beeb Jeremy has gone on to enjoy massive success with new show Clarkson’s Farm charting his adventures running a Cotswolds’ smallholding and boozer. Now ex-racing driver Ben, who always wore a helmet to keep his identity secret in his eight years on Top Gear, is following his former co-star into agriculture and alcohol.
He said he started growing his apples after becoming a ‘micro snob about cider’. Ben, 50, records his adventures on a YouTube channel he has confessed is a ‘Poundland Clarkson’s Farm’.
He told Devon Life magazine: “I’ve got a new YouTube channel called Collins’ Farm. It’s basically a Poundland version of Clarkson’s Farm.”
Clarkson, 65, launched his own Hawkstone lager, cider and IPA range in 2021. Now his old telly pal is set to rival him in the cider stakes.
Ben said: “It’s because I’ve turned into a micro snob about cider. The commercial grade cider is quite sweet – it’s juice expanded into a can as opposed to something that’s really derived from apples.
“When you taste one of these more traditional, crafted ciders, it’s a reawakening of flavour. I’ve just got to get the next batch of planting done and once we’ve filmed that we’re good to go.
“We’ve had a bumper crop this year and they’ve just gone wraaah! There’s a tree there I didn’t even know was an apple tree that’s just produced fruit.”
However, this is not the first time that someone has come out of the woodwork to confirm that they are in fact The Stig. Perry McCarthy spoke to the Daily Star about Jeremy Clarkson, alleging that they had worked together for years before being dropped by the BBC.
Gushing over his co-star, McCarthy said: “I’m in constant awe of Jeremy’s talent. He can juxtapose a moment to make it poignant and comedic, he’s an incredibly talented writer and broadcaster.
“He almost relishes controversy and there’s bravery to that. Jeremy has a lot of attributes that I admire [although] I don’t agree with everything he says. Jeremy also doesn’t just laugh at his own jokes, he will give you credit!”
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