Posted November 29, 2011

With a few days left of our Clarkson survey, we thought it would be best to share some facts you may not have known about the quotable curmudgeon. So before you make a decision on our survey, you may just start to see him in a different light.

Jeremy Clarkson is a man of contradictions, who divides opinion like no other. Whether he's spouting sensationalised car spiel, or baiting environmentalists with carefully constructed, deliberately inflammatory rhetoric, he is rarely far from the headlines.

Love him or hate him, there's probably a few aspects of Clarkson's life that may surprise you.

• Charity Activist - Jeremy spends a lot of time and money supporting the Help for Heroes charity, who help to support soldiers injured in battle and their families. His efforts led to a Christmas appeal in the Sunday Times in 2007.

• Angry Man - Clarkson is known for having a temper, and once attacked the walking smirk, Piers Morgan in front of a group of journalists in 2004. He also once drew blood from Ian Hislop on live TV. He threw a pen at him after Hislop made disparaging remarks about Clarkson's journalism.

• Controversy Courter - The list of Clarkson's critics is endless, with various environmental groups, charities, the RSPCA and OFCOM all having run-ins with Clarkson in recent times. He frequently offends, and (more often than not) frequently apologises for his outbursts and faux pas.

• TV Old-Timer - Clarkson started hosting Top Gear in 1988, and is the only presenter that has lasted the distance. Despite a two year Top Gear lay-off in 2000, Clarkson returned in 2002 with Richard Hammond and then James May as co-hosts, and this is when Top Gear's popularity exploded.

• Respected Journalist - Despite the controversial subject matter of his articles, Clarkson, in a recent survey Clarkson was voted the journalist that the British would be most willing to pay to read.

Whatever you think of the man and his antics, there's probably a few aspects of his personality that would surprise even his most staunch critics. And while he may portray himself as a 2-dimensional, hippie-baiting, fox-hunting petrolhead; there's probably a little bit more to him than that.

By Steve Clark

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