Top Gear legend Jeremy Clarkson returning to motoring for forthcoming TV show - how to watch

Top Gear legend Jeremy Clarkson is returning to cars for a forthcoming TV show. However, fans of the BBC show will be disappointed to learn the star, 64, is not bringing back the seminal motoring programme.

Clarkson is getting back behind the wheel, in front of the camera, in a forthcoming episode of Car SOS. It will mark the first time the newly-developed farmer and pub owner has been involved with motoring on-screen since the final episode of Amazon show, The Grand Tour, which hit screens in September last year.

In the meantime, Clarkson has been focussing his attention on his Diddly Squat farm, the setting for another Amazon series, Clarkson’s Farm, while also running his Hawkstone brewery and Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer’s Dog.

In Car SOS, Clarkson will appear alongside hosts Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend for a special episode, set to hit screens in March, which will see him help repair and restore an old Land Rover Discovery Series 1. Although other’s were sceptical about getting Jeremy on board, Tim decided to give it a go. He said: “The general sentiment was, ‘good luck with that’. But I figured it was worth a shot.

“Even though it was a busy time for Jeremy on the farm, I reached out to his long-time assistant and explained the story behind the car. It was an all-or-nothing request: ‘Could we come to his home and reveal the car to its owner?’

“To my surprise, she got back to me almost immediately after speaking with Jeremy – and the answer was yes. We were all totally stunned. But it didn’t stop there. Not only did he agree, but he was happy for us to bring a full coach load of people, literally the kind of coach you see barrelling down the motorway.

“We had the entire family there, and when you see the size of the group, you realise just how generous this offer was. I mean, think about it, 60 strangers turning up at your property. The Car SOS team and I were even invited into his kitchen for a chat before the big reveal.

“We spent about half an hour with him, and he was warm, friendly, and, of course, typically sarcastic and funny. But what might surprise the Jeremy Clarkson sceptics is just how accommodating and kind he was. He genuinely cared about the wellbeing of both the team and, most importantly, the car’s owner.”

Clarkson also allowed the crew to film the final reveal of the motor at his home, he said. The synopsis for the upcoming series says: "This season, in a groundbreaking TV first, car show legends Jeremy Clarkson and Mike Brewer team up with Tim and Fuzz to restore and return beautifully refurbished vehicles to their deserving owners."

Meanwhile, Clarkson's fellow Grand Tour and Top Gear and regular sidekick James May recently spoke of the TV trio - completed by Richard Hammond - leaving screens. “The idea was to land the car show format safely and not fly it into a cliff," he said. "We only cleared the cliff by a few feet but I think it will survive.”

He said they had agreed it was now “time to let a younger generation have a go”.

:: Car SOS season 13 premieres on National Geographic on March 13 at 8pm, with new episodes every Thursday at 8pm. Jeremy will appear in episode 5 of the new series.