Jeremy Clarkson ‘annoyed’ not to know how many watch The Grand Tour
The presenter said he likes to think the number of viewers is “3.6 billion”, but added it could be “half a dozen”.
Jeremy Clarkson has said he finds it “annoying” not to know the ratings of The Grand Tour series he launched after his exit from Top Gear.
The Amazon Prime show launched its second series on Friday but Clarkson and co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond say they have no idea how many people have tuned in.
This is a stark contrast from the scrutiny on the figures of BBC’s Top Gear, which the trio left after Clarkson gave Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon a bloody lip in a bust-up in March last year.
“So we don’t know the ratings of the show, and I’d love to be able to tell you that’s liberating but actually it’s quite annoying,” Clarkson told the Press Association at a launch event in New York.
“I’d love to know how many people are watching it but we don’t know.”
Clarkson, 57, said he likes to think the number of viewers is “3.6 billion”, but added: “Or it could be half a dozen, I honestly don’t know.”
“We know they’re pleased with them because they are still paying us and they still want us, but we’re not really too worried about it, I’ve always thought that as long as the people who watch it like it that’s the important thing,” he said.
In contrast, Top Gear’s viewing figures dropped from 2.8 million at the beginning of the latest season, fronted by Matt LeBlanc, to 1.9 million.
Amazon Prime launched the second series of The Grand Tour on Friday with events in countries including the UK, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Australia.
