My iconic Ford Cortina starred in The Grand Tour – I was nervous to meet Jeremy Clarkson & then his behaviour shocked me
A CAR fanatic filmed an episode of the Grand Tour – and was very surprised by host Jeremy Clarkson’s behaviour.
Graphic designer Iain Blair, 42, told The Sun how his 1966 Lotus Cortina featured in an episode of the motoring programme.
Iain’s brother spotted a social media post asking for “fast Fords” and after chatting to producers he decided it was “too good” of an opportunity to pass up.
He said he was warned by friends that the former Top Gear presenter, 64, was “not a nice person” – but he found the total opposite.
Iain, from Southampton, described Sun columnist Clarkson as a “total gentleman” and he even signed his Cortina poster.
The motorhead has owned his car for 13 years – having paid around £25,000.
It is now worth an estimated £60,000.
WHO IS JEREMY CLARKSON?
Jeremy Clarkson is a TV presenter and writer.
He is best known for his work on motoring shows Top Gear and The Grand Tour, as well as reality show Clarkson’s Farm and for currently hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
He also writes weekly columns for The Sun and The Sunday Times, and has published numerous books.
The 64-year-old, from Doncaster, West Yorkshire, began his working life as a local journalist in northern England before finding fame presenting the original format of Top Gear in 1988 until 2001.
The show was then revamped by Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman with a new format from 2002.
The presenting trio of Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May continued until 2015 before the three, plus Wilman, moved to Amazon Prime Video to produce The Grand Tour.
Its final episodes are set to be released this year.
In 2021 Clarkson became a farmer on Diddly Squat Farm for show Clarkson’s Farm, also on Prime.
Clarkson has three children and has been married and divorced twice.
He has been in a relationship with former model and actress Lisa Hogan since 2017.
Iain said: “It was in series 3 episode 13, Funeral for a Ford.
“My brother saw a social media post asking for fast Fords for the particular piece.
“[The producers] rang me that evening saying ‘we want to do a very specific feature for your car.’
“My car was very well looked after, went to a specialist. It took a bit of persuading but I decided it was too good of an opportunity to miss.”
Iain got to meet Clarkson and his partner former model and actress Lisa Hogan, 50, who he described as “really lovely”.
“A lot of people said at the time you won’t like Jeremy Clarkson, he’s not a nice person. But he’s a total gentleman,” said Ian.
He went on to say that the host “really loved” the motor and even put it on his Instagram page.
“It had something silly like 50 or 60 thousand likes within the first hour,” Iain recalled.
“It was so surreal, he was an absolute gentleman. Nothing was too much trouble, he even signed my small poster I took with other Cortinas on it.”
Iain added: “He gets lot of bad press, doesn’t he? I just think, especially as I got told by one or two people he’s not easy to work with… but he was an absolute pleasure. Also Lisa was as well.”
WHAT IS THE GRAND TOUR?
The Grand Tour is a motoring TV show, made for Amazon Prime Video.
It was created by former Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, as well as producer Andy Wilman.
The BBC had opted against renewing Clarkson’s contract for Top Gear in 2015, leading to the new show’s creation.
Clarkson had presented Top Gear from 1988, beginning with its old format until 2001 before he and Wilman revamped the programme the following year.
The Grand Tour was originally commissioned for 36 episodes over three years and followed the familiar Top Gear format until 2019 before switching to producing motoring films.
The show is currently set to conclude at the end of its fifth season later this year.