Vinnie Jones hits back at accusations that he’s copying Jeremy Clarkson with new countryside series

Vinnie Jones has hit back against ‘upsetting’ claims that his new countryside reality series is copying Jeremy Clarkson’s Prime Video hit Clarkson’s Farm.

The former footballer turned actor launched his own discovery+ series, Vinnie Jones In The Country, back in 2023 – showcasing the star as he took on 2,000 acres of West Sussex countryside and a series of ambitious farmyard build projects.

Vinnie, 61, who aside from filming a new series of his reality show was working on Guy Ritchie’s Netflix hit The Gentlemen, heaped praise on former Top Gear star Jeremy, 65, for ‘raising awareness for farmers’.

But he insisted that his series, which is currently airing its third season, is ‘not a farm show’ and therefore could ‘not be hung on Clarkson’s Farm’.

He told Radio Times: ‘It’s a show without an agenda, and it’s not a farm show – it’s an in-the-country show.

‘Everyone’s tried to hang it on Clarkson’s Farm, which I find a bit upsetting. Jeremy’s done a fantastic job raising awareness for farmers, but ours is a different little show.
‘After our second series, I think we were given a sponsored rake. Look at Clarkson’s Farm: tractors, combines – everything!’

Vinnie explained that he first came up with the idea for the country living series during the coronavirus lockdown – following the death of his wife Tanya after a six-year battle with cancer in 2019.
The actor admitted that he ‘spent lockdown watching Netflix boxsets’, meaning when he finally got back outside, he wanted to ‘dive into the countryside’.

It was also partly spurred on by his lifelong love of the outdoors that was inspired by his ‘passionate country man’ father, joking his ‘Mastermind specialist subject would be British nature’, insisting ‘not many people would beat’ him.

Hailing legendary natural historian Sir David Attenborough as his ‘hero’, Vinnie concluded that the series gives fans an insight into ‘what he actually does in his spare time’, aside from watching the naturalist’s documentaries.

‘I’m not a South London gangster, never have been – yesterday I sat for six hours just to see a kingfisher,’ he concluded.

It comes after Vinnie revealed how he saved a man’s life after becoming a mental health campaigner as part of the action on his countryside TV show.

Vinnie has publicly faced his own heartbreaking struggles and is now helping others with theirs in Vinnie Jones In The Country, which also features girlfriend Emma Ford.
Through filming for the series, Vinnie said it made him realise how desperate some people are for help.

He told Country Life: ‘A guy came to my gate recently to tell me I’d saved his life. He had been watching an episode where I had been talking about how to keep going through tough times.
‘I believe the real way to man up is to talk about the hard stuff.’

Vinnie is eager to tackle the problem of rural loneliness and isolation, which is a growing issue, and has been hosting breakfasts for local farmers in a bid for them to get to know people face-to-face.

The TV star said they have ‘lost opportunities’ due to pubs closing and meetings moving online instead.

During the interview, Vinnie discussed losing his beloved late wife Tanya in 2019 due to a battle with cancer.

He concluded: ‘We all have a different journey, but grief is roughly the same colour. I hope that with what I’ve been through and the joy I am going through now, I can help.’
Tanya, who he married in 1994, was tragically diagnosed with skin cancer in 2013, passing away six years later in 2019 after it spread to her brain.

Speaking to the Mirror last year, Vinnie admitted he had found love again with Emma. It is happy news for Vinnie who said in 2019: ‘I will never be with anyone else’.

‘You know, after four months, four years, five years, 10 years, you just keep moving forwards, the grief is always going to be in there’, the star of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels said.

He has moved on with Emma – a former PA to Mick Jones from The Clash.

She also worked as a showbiz reporter on Hollywood red carpets, but now lives back in the UK after years spent working and partying hard in LA.

The new couple were brought together by the pandemic and Vinnie’s farm in West Sussex – and she also became a star of the documentary series about his new rural life that aired on Discovery+ last November.