Jeremy Clarkson offered almost 1 million pounds to the pub owner within minutes of meeting her.
The former Top Gear presenter, 64, has been developing his small Cotswold estate for the popular Amazon series Clarkson Farm.
Eager to find a pub to sell his wares, Clarkson arranged to meet the landlady of The Windmill, near Burford in Oxfordshire, and reportedly offered her a large sum over coffee.
The pub is situated in the Cotswold countryside and has views of the Windrush Valley, and is just 10 miles from the presenter’s location. Diddly Squat Farm.
Set on five acres of his own land, the presenter hopes to turn the site into a pub that will serve only British produce and offer farmers a free pint.
Publican Jackie Walker, 79, was invited to Diddly Squat to discuss the terms of a potential deal for The Windmill.
She told MailOnline: “A camera crew came into the pub and the next thing I knew someone with Clarkson knocked on the door and asked if I was interested in selling.”
Mrs Walker, who opened the country pub with her late husband Alan in 1983, visited Clarkson’s home near the village of Chadlington to discuss terms over coffee.
She said: “The first thing Jeremy said to me was that I assume you want a lot of money for this.”
It was reported that almost £1 million was offered almost immediately and Mrs Walker accepted. Clarkson has secured the freedom of the pub, which is not affiliated with any brewery, meaning he can sell his own beer on site.
Mrs Walker said: “That made me laugh, but that’s Jeremy Clarkson.” She said she wasn’t planning on selling the place but wasn’t too happy with the way it was being run, adding “I’m not getting any younger.”
“I assume he’ll make a TV series out of it. I really hope he can make the place a big success and restore it to how it was before. My husband and I had a lot of fun running it.”
Clarkson has been looking for a pub as a place to market his own products, including his Hawkstone beer.
Work has begun on renovating the Windmill, which Clarkson described as “full of dead rats” and “illegal” toilets.
Walker, who stepped back from the day-to-day running of the pub when her husband died 11 years ago and allowed leaseholders to step in, said she hopes Clarkson can make the pub as successful as it was in its early days when it was popular with locals and tourists .
She said the pub was often “packed” in the early days and was known for good food, particularly good food.
