The friendly but fiercely competitive feud between former Top Gear co-hars James May and Jeremy Clarkson has found a new battleground: the British pub trade. Since both television personalities opened their own establishments, a light-hearted war of words over whose venue is superior has been a constant feature.
The Pubs at the Heart of the Feud
James May, who turned 63 today, is the proud owner of The Royal Oak in Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire. His former colleague and occasional verbal sparring partner, 65-year-old Jeremy Clarkson, runs The Farmer's Dog in Asthall, Oxfordshire. May's pub launched in 2021, with Clarkson's following in 2024, and both have reportedly stayed busy since opening their doors.
In a recent interview, May didn't hesitate to crown his own pub the winner, especially in a hypothetical crisis. "Oh, mine. It's in Wiltshire. We're heavily armed down here," he joked to The Guardian, suggesting it would be the perfect refuge in a zombie apocalypse. He then critiqued the customer experience at Clarkson's establishment, stating, "People queue up at Clarkson's. There's queueing protocol going on, which I don't like."
Playful Barbs and Alleged Bans
This is far from the first exchange in their ongoing rivalry. Last year, reports surfaced that Clarkson had banned May from his Oxfordshire pub. May responded with characteristic dry wit during an appearance on Lorraine, likening the ban to "being banned from the golf club."
He swiftly added, "I wasn't going to go anyway. I've got my own pub which is just around the corner, I'm not going to go 75 miles to his. Especially as mine's better." Despite the constant jibes, both presenters maintain their long-standing relationship is fundamentally strong. Clarkson has previously noted that their decades working together would have been impossible with genuine animosity.
Beyond the Banter: The Tough Reality of Pubs
Behind the celebrity-driven rivalry lies the stark economic reality facing the UK's hospitality sector. Both May and Clarkson have spoken candidly about the significant challenges of running a pub in the current climate.
In a frank discussion on LBC with Nick Ferrari, James May highlighted the precarious financial margins. "The margins are tiny, and one bit of old 18th-century thatch falling off, or in our case, having to resurface the gravelly car park, can be enough to push you over the edge," he explained.
He offered a pragmatic, if somewhat unromantic, view for the future of British pubs: "I think we do have to stop thinking of pubs as an important part of our heritage or a vital tradition, an institution, or an essential part of being British, or any of that misty-eyed stuff. They have to work as pubs; they have to be nice places to go." This sentiment underscores that for both presenters, the business success of their ventures is just as important as their playful public competition.
