Jeremy Clarkson Once Feared For His Life When Held At Gunpoint

Did you know that Jeremy Clarkson once feared for his life life when he was held at gunpoint?

If the answer was 'no', well now you know. If the answer was 'yes', then read on for a reminder of what went down.

Now, it's no secret that the opinionated broadcaster has a lot of enemies in this world, but it was actually a total stranger who put his life in jeopardy.

The 61-year-old presenter was doing some filming for a television show in 1997 when the crew was confronted by a gang member with a machine gun in Detroit, USA.

Clarkson returned to the scene of the crime in the third series of The Grand Tour and recalled the harrowing moment they were ambushed.

In the episode - which first aired in January 2019 - he said: "Somebody held a gun against my head in Detroit.

"It's a long, complicated story but we were trying to do some filming and some people thought we were trespassing on their turf.

"It was pretty nasty. And this time, 100 yards from where that happened, I was having dumplings in a goose broth."

Understandably, Clarkson and the rest of the production team were left reeling from the near-death experience.

Speaking to The Mirror, an insider claimed the former Top Gear host used his charm to get out of the sticky situation.

They said: "Jeremy was filming in a ruined railway station but was warned by cops not to go inside as there were warring gang factions operating. But he ignored the advice and was surrounded by gangs.

"Thankfully, he talked himself out of the situation."

The revelation came in the opening episode of the series, which saw Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May test out three powerful American Muscle cars: a Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3, a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and a Hennessey Exorcist Camaro.

After returning to Detroit for the first time since that fateful event, Clarkson said: "I'm sure if you actually lived there you wouldn't call it interesting, you'd call it dangerous.

"But the chrome shoots of rejuvenation are growing again so you can actually eat quite well there, you can stay in a nice hotel, you can go short distances from A to B without being shot."

More recently, Clarkson said he had 'the biggest accident of his life' while filming The Grand Tour's new Lochdown special, which you can watch on Amazon Prime Video now.

Say what you like about the man, he sure knows how to promote a show.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Celebrity, Interesting, Jeremy Clarkson

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey