Clarkson’s Farm fans have been left up in arms following a series of clashes between Jeremy Clarkson and pub consultants Sue and Rachel Hawkins.
The duo, who’ve spent a career flipping unsuccessful pubs in the Cotswolds into thriving businesses, were hired by Clarkson, 65, to help get his own pub venture off to a flying start.
In the final few episodes of the fourth season of Clarkson’s Farm, fans witnessed how the task of launching a successful pub business was a lot easier said than done.
After purchasing The Windmill just outside Burford in Oxfordshire, Clarkson called upon the hospitality gurus and auntie-niece duo to renovate the establishment and ensure his five-week timeframe wouldn’t prove a hindrance.
However, it soon unravelled that Clarkson’s desire for a smooth-sailing pub opening was a pipedream. Sue admitted that the prospect of flipping the pub in such a short space of time was “daunting” and “not ideal,” but it didn’t stop the pair from taking on the project.
What followed was a series of rather tense back-and-forths between the two parties, from exasperation over £40,000 “jumbrellas”, to clashes about the state of the dining room’s furniture.
Sue and Rachel also looked rather unimpressed when Clarkson decided to take it upon himself to deliver an expletive-laden pep talk to The Farmer’s Dog’s young batch of employees ahead of opening day.
But the biggest signs of discontent came in the season four finale, following a series of issues and mishaps with the pub after it opened its doors.
Despite the trio sharing an excitable greeting on the morning of the launch, the mood took a turn. Clarkson discovered the barstools couldn’t swivel, that the carvery unit was awkwardly placed, and after a disastrous day of trading, Sue and Rachel let loose.
Rachel began: “We are pubs, and we know how to run pubs. We’ve done pubs forever. This building is not really fit for purpose. There are too many issues for us to run a successful business from this site, with failing water, no toilets, no gas, leaking roofs, and struggling staff.”
Sue then chimed in: “Everyone is exhausted. Even when we say, ‘Go for a break’, there’s no staffroom. They’re weeing in a porta-loo. It’s not lovely conditions. They love you and they love working here because of that, and they’re excited about the British food, and everything this pub is, they wanna get behind it… But they’re working 14-hour days.”
“I have no problem with the staff, not one single problem with the staff,” Clarkson eventually interjected after holding his head in his hands. “They’re all brilliant. They’re smiley and they’re nice.”
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But Rachel wasn’t convinced Clarkson had grasped the severity of the situation. “The kitchen is about to go pop. Those chefs have had it. It might be worth popping into the kitchen.”
“I’ve just been in the kitchen,” Clarkson protested, but Rachel sternly replied: “Go back. Go back. Go back, would be my advice.”
With tensions rising, Clarkson remarked: “Do you want me to find a new manager or go back into the kitchen? Or do you want me to get the leak mended? Or do you want me to deal with the car parking issues? Or do you want me to deal with the neighbours? Do you want me to deal with the council?
“I’ve got plenty to be doing and I’ll get on with it. Thank you,” a stressed Clarkson said before leaving the two in their seats.
Later in the season four finale, it transpired that Sue and Rachel had left the project just 48 hours after The Farmer’s Dog opened its doors, forcing Clarkson to rope in the local head of a sixth form to act as the front of house manager for the pub’s first Sunday service.
Following season four’s release, fans have been having their say on the conduct of Sue and Rachel as well as Clarkson’s seeming naivety when it came to running his own pub.
And judging by posts on the online forum site Reddit, it seems several fans were left less than impressed with how the hospitality specialists went about their business, with the pair being branded “unprofessional”, “condescending”, and “embarrassing”.
Responding to one thread about the pair, one viewer penned: “The way they both…spoke to Jeremy here was completely out of order. I was stunned and quite annoyed. If I were Jeremy at that moment, I would have relieved them both of their duties immediately and escorted them off the premises.
“They were there to help identify and fix all the issues they brought up and blamed Jeremy for. Not whinge about it in a condescending tone. As other threads have said, they were in over their heads. So incredibly inept and unprofessional. Better off without them.”
A second agreed: “These two knew from day 1 what they were getting into. For them to come in on the 2nd day like that was extremely unprofessional. It actually comes off as them not knowing that much and are larping being pub consultants.”
Elsewhere, a third weighed in: “For some of it, I was sympathetic towards them because I can imagine Jeremy being pretty hard to work with at times, and just the sheer ambition of the project being insane. But then there were moments (where) I’m wondering wtf they actually did other than playing house with someone else’s money.”
“Well, they certainly won’t be rehired,” another Redditor commented alongside a screengrab from the series. “Awful, awful attitude from both those women.”
And a fifth tried to remain diplomatic as they chimed in: “Manufacturing drama by making unrealistic or dumb decisions is the winning TV formula of each and every Clarkson show. That said, these so-called experts who accepted the premise of the show handled their duties exceptionally poorly.
“I really doubt they’ll be hired as pub consultants again after this embarrassing showing. They aggressively shot themselves in the foot. I guess there is such a thing as bad publicity.”
However, Sue and Rachel were on the receiving end of support from others who felt the overwhelming backlash to their conduct was “unfair”.
One such fan leapt to their defence in one thread as they typed: “I get that the hard open was probably for the show and drama, but I don’t think that can be used as an excuse to s**t on people. And as much as Sue and Rachel were not perfect, blaming them for his mismanagement is just unfair…
“The vast majority of the stuff that went wrong with his pub was his fault. Not Sue and Rachel.”
Sue and Rachel’s spats with Clarkson weren’t the only talking points to emerge from the Amazon show’s latest series.
Fans were left concerned when Clarkson’s trusty builder Alan Townsend shared some worrying health news as the finale neared its conclusion. However, he’s since provided an encouraging update in response to fans’ queries.
Meanwhile, Clarkson has cleared up any confusion over a “subliminal” split-second shot of Rachel Reeves in the show’s final moments, explaining exactly why he included the image.