Are you ready for The Grand Tour with Clarkson, Hammond and May?

James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond in The Grand Tour

JEREMY CLARKSON is holding court in the upstairs room of a pub, waxing lyrical on everything from Bake Off to One Direction.

But ask him about his exit from Top Gear last year — in which he was sacked after attacking a producer in an apparent row over catering — and the presenter is uncharacteristically quiet.

“I wouldn’t even dream of going there — that was a long time ago,” he says.

But Clarkson will admit to watching the first two episodes of the rebooted Top Gear, which aired earlier this year hosted by Chris Evans (who’s since quit) and Matt LeBlanc, who’s returning for a second run.

Was he secretly pleased with its disappointing ratings?

“I honestly don’t even know what they were . . .” he says, as if there was ever any doubt he’d keep a close eye on such matters.

Clarkson, who has teamed up with his former Top Gear co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May for new Amazon Prime car show The Grand Tour, adds: “It was sad, because I did used to think that show was my baby.

“It was. I worked and chivvied away at it for 12 years — but we’ve got a better show now.”

He’s full of praise for his new bosses at Amazon — who are “just so up for it” — and quick to slate former director of BBC Television Danny Cohen, who was reportedly instrumental in his sacking.

“I never, ever got that enthusiasm from the BBC, ever, not in 27 years,” he reveals.

“If you don’t have to work with Danny Cohen looking over your shoulder all the time, it’s amazing how relaxed you become.”

Clarkson is more positive about the rest of the Beeb, however, adding: “Everything I know about making television I learnt from the BBC. It’s a brilliant organisation for letting you grow.

“That being said, they’re absolutely rubbish at talent management. That’s why they keep losing shows.”

Referring to The Great British Bake Off’s move to Channel 4 for a reported £25 million a year, he adds: “If I’d have been running it, I would have said: ‘OK, we’ll pay.’

“It’s a really popular show. How many people watched the final? Over 15 million? That’s an astronomical viewing figure, so it’s the BBC’s duty to bring that show, irrespective of its cost, really.”

The Grand Tour is a global jaunt, and episode one sees the trio in the Californian desert with hundreds of cars, thousands of people and a squadron of jets.

We’ll also be introduced to the “holy trinity” of hybrid hypercars — the McLaren P1, the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Ferrari LaFerrari.

And as you’d expect from stars known for causing offence to Mexicans, Argentinians, Indians and many more during their Top Gear tenure, there’ll be plenty of ribbing with the different nationalities they encounter.

But Clarkson insists they’re laughing with — not at — the locals.

“When you’re in front of a Dutch audience or an American audience or a Finnish audience or a German audience, it’s much more good-natured,” he says.

“We also made a policy not to swear. Top Gear was a family show and this one is, too.”

He admits to some nerves about the reaction to The Grand Tour — but says age helps quell them.

“You can say: ‘This is a terrible programme,’ and I’ll go: ‘Yeah, but I’ll be dead before anybody notices.’”

The Grand Tour begins on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 18.

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