17-03-2025
Jeremy Clarkson hailed as 'generous' as Car SOS hosts open up about guest stars
From Prince Harry to now Jeremy Clarkson, many celebrities have given up their time over the years to help out on Car S.O.S.
Presenters Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend spoke to Yahoo UK about the true generosity of those who take part on the show, including "generous" Jeremy Clarkson.
Among the guest stars in the latest series, former Top Gear and The Grand Tour star Clarkson invited the Car S.O.S cameras to Diddly Squat Farm to film a reveal for a Land Rover Discovery Series 1 that airs on 10 April on National Geographic.
Townshend praised Clarkson for defying all expectations and showing his true character to be a "generous" man.
He told Yahoo UK of Clarkson: "Absolutely, I was totally surprised [about Jeremy Clarkson saying 'yes'] but that is because of the impression that people have of him, and actually that tends to that that turns out to be a long way from the truth."
Townshend added: "He was generous in spirit, in time, with the people who were there. He allowed a coachful of the nominee's family to turn up in his backyard, basically. And hang around there and be there on his property on a weekday morning when I'm sure he had a lot of stuff that he could be getting on with.
"But he did that, he allowed us to be there, we were there all morning... [As a Clarkson's Farm fan] it was great. It was brilliant being there [at Diddly Squat farm], although I did have to hide in the barn for quite a lot of it!"
Cameras are rolling when the duo get to work on restoring a vehicle in secret for a well-deserving car owner, with the request made by a close friend or family member. It all leads up to the big reveal and emotional moment at the end where the car owner is reunited with their transformed vehicle.
The celebrity guests are enlisted to help make the reveal extra special when surprising the car owner with their transformed vehicle. Of the big reveals, Shaw said: "This moment matters. This is a big life changing moment for many people who we Car S.O.S."
"Car S.O.S has become a national institution now in the sense that everybody knows it, which is nice," Shaw added. "And even for those who don't watch it, getting hold of celebrities to come on the show has become a lot easier because they realise that what we're doing is a nice thing.
"So when a request comes in from Car S.O.S to come on the show, people take it seriously, and it's then that you actually realise that a lot of A-listers, a lot of people around the world do watch Car SOS.
"You forget who's watching it, I sometimes sit there and think, 'I wonder if, and I wonder if' over the years we've had various people from Jack Black, Tyson Fury, Prince Harry, all these people, and Clarkson coming on the show, what a wonderful guy, despite what some people might think."
Clarkson isn't the only star to give up his time for this series. Comedian Johnny Vegas, who is a huge fan of the show, and Wheeler Dealer's Mike Brewer, who is a long-time friend of the presenters, also team up with the Car S.O.S team in the 13th instalment of the show.
Despite Brewer presenting car show Wheeler Dealers on rival Discovery Channel, there is no rivalry between them and he was glad to come support his real life friends.
"We've known Mike for a long time," Townshend said. "I've known Mike, you know, before I ever stood in front of a TV camera or anything like that when I was a car magazine journalist and stuff and I know that Tim knew him before as well."
He added: "So yeah, he's our chum. He'll turn up to things, you know, if we're filming somewhere nearby, he'll show up anyway, just to come and say hello. And if we're nearby him, we'll go and say hello to him."
Also from behind the scenes, Shaw and Townshend revealed that Vegas gave up a whole day of his time to get involved with Car S.O.S filming.
Shaw added: "Johnny Vegas is genuinely a big fan of the show, so he wanted to come down to be a part of it, and that's the thing: there's television where you get paid to do it, but then there's also something lovely that you're doing, and you're just going to have a nice time and you go to it, like going to the zoo, you're going to have a nice time.
"Johnny came down to the Car S.O.S zoo to have a great time with this and just mess around and give a car back to somebody and make that dream come true. And that's the thing about Car S.O.S.
"We do rely heavily on people's kindness, but ultimately the reveal days when everything comes together and it's a special moment, so who wouldn't want to be there?"
New episodes of Car S.O.S can be seen every Thursday at 8pm on National Geographic channel from 13th March.
