--- title: "Jeremy Clarkson Left ‘The Grand Tour’ Because He’s ‘Unfit and Fat and Old’" description: "The 63-year-old says he and his cohosts have \"done everything you can do with a car,\" and The Grand Tour is too physically demanding now." date: "2024-01-26" modified: "2024-01-26" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/jeremy-clarkson-left-the-grand-tour-because-hes-unfit-and-fat-and-old" categories: - "Culture" - "News" --- # Jeremy Clarkson Left ‘The Grand Tour’ Because He’s ‘Unfit and Fat and Old’ ![]() *\Mark Williamson/Country Life/Future Publishing via Getty Images\* There are two more episodes of *The Grand Tour* on the horizon: one set in Mauritania, which should drop on Amazon Prime Video next month, and another in Zimbabwe, release date to be announced. After that, [it sounds like it's over]() for the iconic trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, at least in the business of making extravagant car-themed travel entertainment. If you're wondering why they've called it quits now, Clarkson's left little room for ambiguity in a recent interview. Quite simply, the work is "immensely physical," as Clarkson put it to *[The Times]()* of London, "when you’re unfit and fat and old, which I am." "I’ve driven cars higher than anyone else and further north than anyone else," the 63-year-old said. "We’ve done everything you can do with a car. When we had meetings about what to do next, people just threw their arms in the air." Clarkson, Hammond, and May began working together on *Top Gear* in 2003, when May replaced Jason Dawe for the second season onward. Of course, Clarkson's own history with the program began more than a decade earlier, during its original format. Their missions and adventures have only trended ever more elaborate and expensive since, not to mention [dangerous](). "If you’re Bear Grylls you go to a hotel," Clarkson told *The* *Times*. "There aren’t any hotels in the Sahara desert." While *The Grand Tour's* end is in sight, *Clarkson's Farm*, which requires significantly less physical toil on the part of the host, is continuing on. And Amazon may very well decide to redevelop *The Grand Tour* without its original talent. As May recently put it [in his own interview](), "there’s never been a better time for a car show," given the constant developments around autonomy and electrification. Clarkson, however, doesn't appear to see it that way. "An electric car is no different from a chest freezer or a microwave oven," Clarkson said to *The* *Times*. "There’s no glamour or excitement. This week on *Top Chest Freezer*! I think it suits the written media more." Whoa, Jeremy—some of us still have to make a living here, thanks. All things come to their end, of course, and it stands to reason that the show about three middle-aged men falling over in increasingly elaborate, picturesque fashion depends on the hosts being able to take those hits. Personally, I'd be perfectly pleased with a return to the early *Top Gear*-style challenges of driving 100 miles across the U.K. in Italian rust buckets, but if the goal must be something new and fresh, it's not hard to understand why the trio's throwing its arms up. *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()