Jeremy Clarkson hits back at 'senile' James May's claims about The Grand Tour reunion specials

Jeremy Clarkson has shut down James May’s claims that he won’t be appearing in The Grand Tour reunion specials.

Last week, May claimed Clarkson was absent from the four retrospective Grand Tour episodes that will be released later this year and in 2026 which look back over the best moments from the Amazon Prime motoring show.

“Well, I’m afraid it’s not a reunion. The Not Very Grand Tour is essentially a best-of compilation hosted from the studio by me and Richard Hammond,” May, 62, told Al Arabiya News host Tom Burges Watson on his show.

“Jeremy Clarkson wasn't available for some reason, but we're all in the clips. It's all things you've seen before, but chopped up in a different way. We recorded it a while back. I can't remember why he couldn't be there. He was probably busy.”

Clarkson, 64, refuted May’s claims at the weekend, writing on X: “I fear the poor old dear has become senile. Because while he can’t remember me being there, I can.”

A fan replied jokingly, “To be fair, May has been 85 years old for the last 40 years lol,” to which the former Top Gear host quipped back: “He was 85 when he was born.”

Another fan asked why they were releasing special episodes after airing a two-hour finale in September, which saw Clarkson, May, and Richard Hammond travel to Zimbabwe.

“Didn't y'all end that s**t? What was that emotional ‘final’ episode for?” the user questioned.

“To be clear, there are some ‘best ofs’ coming. Zimbabwe was the last one. I have too many cows now to go swanning off,” Clarkson responded, referencing the farm he looks after in the Cotswolds.

The first special on Prime Video will be The Not Very Grand Tour: The Power And The Glory, which sees Hammond and May “celebrate the glory of the internal combustion engine” by looking back at the series.

“These include the hyper car holy trinity, muscle cars in Detroit, a city sprint in a Bugatti, the world’s craziest tank, and a race between the past, present and future,” Prime Video said in a description.

More instalments, such as The Grand-ish Tour: A Trip Down Memory Lane, The Grand-ish Tour: A Bit Further Down Memory Lane and The Grand-ish Tour: Completely Lost Down Memory Lane, are set for release later this year and 2026.

Clarkson will take part in those, with the trio looking back at moments in California, Morocco, Colorado, Scandinavia, and Mongolia.

Hammond and May will also remind Clarkson of “his mechanical incompetence, and enjoy an excellent montage of each other falling over”.

They will also celebrate stuff they built including a self-assembly car that crossed Mongolia, and Clarkson’s home-made SUV, along with their explosions, and making a “heartfelt farewell to an old friend”.

In recent years, Clarkson has been busy filming a Prime Video farming show called Clarkson’s Farm, which sees him tackling how to grow crops and look after animals on his land in Oxfordshire.

The Not Very Grand Tour: The Power And The Glory, airs on April 18.