Jeremy Clarkson left fans shocked by joking about drink-driving while filming the last ever episode of The Grand Tour in Zimbabwe.
The TV presenter was speaking during a Q&A session following a screening of the episode, released on Amazon Prime earlier this month, which sees him and co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May downing beer and spirits while sailing boats, loaded with their vehicles, over Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba.
Clarkson, 64, told the event: "Hopefully nobody will notice that at the end of that lake crossing all of that drink had gone."
When a woman in the audience called out 'no, we did notice!', Clarkson replied: "You did notice... did you then notice we set off driving the next day? Well I'm duty-bound to tell you there was a three-day gap between arriving and setting off - but there wasn't."
Zimbabwe has the same drink-drive laws as the UK, meaning motorists there must have no more than 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood - typically not more than a pint and a half of regular lager. He was commenting on a section of the new film, called One for the Road, which saw the presenters taking to a boat containing a homemade bar full of booze, including lager, gin, whiskey and vodka.
In the programme Hammond is seen describing the boat as "a floating drinks cabinet" and telling Clarkson: "You've bought a bar!". After setting off on the journey, Clarkson declares: "HMS s***-faced is underway!". He is later seen opening a beer while telling viewers: "Right, seat checks complete, there's only one thing I can think to do."
And he tells the camera: "We've done some daft things in our time, but I'm really enjoying this one. I'm sailing a bar with a Lancia on it and I've got a lot of drink to get through." Clarkson is also heard appearing to slur his words, while saying: "I've got three quarters of a bottle of vodka, half a bottle of gin, no, no, that's not gin. What is that? I can't see. This is a blended brandy and I also have here a blended whiskey."
During the Q&A, held at his pub The Farmer's Dog in Asthall, Oxfordshire, Clarkson was asked how many units of alcohol he drank while filming the driving show. He admitted: "We do drink a lot. We are mostly smashed, really."
Road safety experts last night slammed the former Top Gear presenter and urged him to educate himself on the dangers of drinking and driving. Lucy Straker, campaigns manager at road safety charity Brake, said: "It is important for any person in a position of influence to act responsibly when talking about driving so that those who look up to them can follow their example.
"We would encourage Jeremy Clarkson to reach out to us and take a positive step towards making our roads safer by raising funds to support our work helping people bereaved by road death. Or maybe he would prefer to speak to a member of the Brake team to get a true picture of the impact drink driving has on communities across the UK."
Clarkson previously sparked fury in 2008 by apparently drink-driving in the Arctic while filming an episode of Top Gear. Producers were later rapped by the BBC Trust who ruled that Clarkson and James May drinking gin and tonics behind the wheel glamorised alcohol. At the time, the programme's executive producer insisted the pair were not drunk or out of control of the vehicle, and claimed the footage was filmed in "international waters" and therefore drink-driving laws did not apply.
Clarkson also provoked anger when he tweeted that he was driving with a beer in his cup holder in Australia in 2014, telling fans: "One of the best drives of my life. Gravel road. M6. Sun going down. iPod playing Blind Faith. Beer in cup holder."
Approached to comment on our story, Clarkson last night told us: "Thanks for bothering to check. As we explained in the show, we are not interested in your call. But just so you know. It was a joke."