The co-host of Amazon’s The Grand Tour spoke about the difficulties in filming the show’s new season over coronavirus guidelines in Scotland. He attacked the “dizzying” list of restrictions him and cast-mates Richard Hammond and James May had to follow while filming in Scotland. Mr Clarkson has previously criticised the First Minister for her alleged dislike for English people.
The Grand Tour stars were filming a new season of the show in Edinburgh, where the trio would drive a classic American car to North Uist in the Western Islands.
While complaining about the difficulties filming over the new restrictions in the Sunday Times, Mr Clarkson hit out at Ms Sturgeon for the tough measures and expressed his fears the shoot would be scrapped.
He said: “I didn’t think there was a hope in hell we’d get started, let alone finished. And that’s before we get to the problem with Scotland.
“Nicola Sturgeon seems to be driven solely by a deep-seated hatred of the English, so we were expecting her to close the Border at any moment.
”Which would have meant throwing away all the money that had been spent.”
READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson blasts ‘silly’ Nicola Sturgeon telling her ‘move on and forgive English’
Mr Clarkson also told all about the stress of filming a new show under tight coronavirus restrictions set by Amazon in accordance with Ms Sturgeon’s measures.
He said: “The rules of engagement it supplied were dizzying. We were to take our own testing lab on the 1,000-mile journey and the key players were to be tested every day.
“Everyone on the crew had to maintain a distance of 6ft from one another, which is pretty tricky when you’re in a car. And anything anyone touched had to be sterilised before someone could touch it again.
“This meant removing the locks from our cars and giving everyone screwdrivers to break in, because keys were deemed lethal.
“The cost of meeting all these requirements was enormous.”
The First Minister’s closure of pubs and restaurants has caused outcry in Scotland, with hospitality businesses fuming at the strict measures.
The closures came into effect last Friday, with central Scottish regions including Edinburgh and Glasgow having to close down completely whereas other areas moved to takeaway-only operations.
Stephen Montgomery, spokesman for the Scottish Hospitality Group, warned the measures will be catastrophic for the sector.
He said: “The First Minister has effectively signed a death sentence for many businesses across the Scottish hospitality industry, while the real problem is socialising at home.”
The Grand Tour cast and crew came under fire for an alleged after-party when they finished filming in Scotland, but the Dark Island Hotel where the cast were staying rubbished the rumours.
They said on Facebook there was no party, and added: “The Grand Tour have been exemplary in their approach to COVID-19 and they have communicated with the relevant local authorities for this event to happen.”
In a post on his Instagram, Mr Clarkson poked fun at his coronavirus “bubble” being made up of his cast-mates.
He said: “Of all the f****** bubbles I could have ended up in.”
