Yahoo News Jeremy Clarkson in tears as he celebrates huge win against council
Jeremy Clarkson's fight with the council is finally over
What did you miss?
Tearful Jeremy Clarkson celebrated his big win against the council in Clarkson's Farm, saying: "This is the biggest f*** you to the council ever."
The fight between Clarkson and the council has taken centre stage throughout Prime Video's Clarkson's Farm. Now after all this time, it was finally over and the former Grand Tour star had scored a victory. Season three had got off to a sad start with the council shutting down the restaurant and threatening to close the shop.
As the show was nearing the end of season three, their luck had completely changed. Visibly emotional, the TV presenter was in shock when he received an email saying Diddly Squat farm had been granted permission to have the restaurant as well as the cafe and car parking plus shop and toilets.
What, how and why?
Concerned Lisa Hogan was quick to try and find out what had happened as Clarkson was overcome with emotion. She asked him: "Are you crying or laughing?"
With tears in his eyes, Clarkson put his hand to his mouth and he delivered the good news. He said: "We've won the appeal." His girlfriend let out a huge gasp as everyone was in disbelief over the fact Clarkson had won the battle. There were cheers and hugs all round. Clarkson repeated: "We've won the appeal." He exclaimed, "Oh wow!"
Hogan was keen to find out more, she pressed him for details. "What happened? Tell me, tell me," she said. Clarkson told his girlfriend he was still reading the email before then proceeding to read it aloud to Hogan - and for the cameras too.
"It's a hell of a long document," he said. "For purposes and clarity - this is the planning inspector - correct the allegation to a change of use to a mixed use comprising agriculture, cafe, restaurant, farm shop, parking and lavatory facilities. The whole lot. That's gone, we can't have a restaurant there but we can have this here. We can make that a cafe in there. This is the biggest f*** you to the council ever."
There have been a lot of back and forth between the council and the TV farmer but he was convinced this was the final sparring match. Clarkson told the cameras that Diddly Squat farm would be "safe" for the next three years.
He said: "I don't think the council will appeal. This inspector has taken - how long has he taken? Four months. he's not going to have made a mistake. Basically, we're safe and we're good to go for three years. We're back in business!"
Later in the show, Charlie Ireland told Clarkson it would cost them £94,000 to pay for a car park to be built on the farm. So instead, the farm owner has a different idea. He brings together his "avengers" - his girlfriend, Kaleb Cooper, Gerald Cooper and Andy - and they get to work on building the car park themselves. It's hard work - and gruelling at times - but by the end of the season they manage to pull it off.
Clarkson says there are no happy endings
Clarkson had hinted there would be no happy ending on the farm but it's not entirely true. Yes, they had incredibly heartache over losing the pigs and Clarkson broke down in tears when they had sick pig Baroness euthanised.
However, the inspector had given Clarkson the green light to reopen the restaurant in a different place, have a cafe, keep the burger van, keep the shop and to then go on to build a car park as well as toilets. It was a huge win for the end of the season.
Ahead of the new series, he said: "Farming on television has been portrayed in the past as fresh straw, fluffy lambs, agreeable calves: a bit like Babe. I had it in my head before we ever started the farm that farming wasn't like that – that it was much dirtier and harder, and I always wanted to show it like it actually is."
He went on: "Every single TV show or movie we watched as a child was sad: Lassie, Ring of Bright Water where the otter gets a shovel through his head, Old Yeller, he died. Born Free was an absolute tear-jerker."
He added: "There was never a children's film in the Sixties and Seventies where it had a happy ending and I don't know what happened, but movie producers decided films needed happy endings, and that's what we've got used to. Well, farming doesn’t have many happy endings, as we've discovered."
All episodes from Clarkson's Farm season three are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.
