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X Factor legend helps to relaunch quirky Oxfordshire hotel

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Boutique hotel group Crazy Bear kicked off the summer social season in style, hosting a private party until the early hours to mark a new era.

Former The Xtra Factor presenter, comedian Matt Richardson, was one of the performers on the night.

Hundreds of guests packed the venue and were treated to acts including festival favourites The Cuban Brothers, and a dance-off led by leading Latin dancers Ksenia Zsikhotska and Krystof Grzelak.

READ MORE: Food and drink items recalled from supermarkets

The party earlier this month marked the launch of a new Crazy Bear menu and cocktail range coming soon, plus refurbishment of some of the heritage venue’s indoor and outdoor spaces.

Throughout the night, party goers enjoyed dishes from the refreshed menu, which couple traditional pub food with sumptuous Thai flavours.

Party goers at the Crazy Bear hotel in StadhamptonParty goers at the Crazy Bear hotel in Stadhampton (Image: Fortitude Communications)

The Cuban Brothers unleashed a mix of funk-fuelled epic dance moves, while Matt Richardson took a break from his national tour with a bespoke version of his celebrated stand-up routine.

Sol Collective, one of London’s leading Latin ensembles, joined the line-up with two fresh, inspiring live acoustic sets on the garden terrace.

The Sol Collective play at the Crazy Bear hotel venueThe Sol Collective play at the Crazy Bear hotel venue (Image: Fortitude Communications)

The innovative menu brought together classic pub mains, sizzling meats from the grill and authentic Thai wok dishes. Open fire cage cooking, a new weekend feature, included garlic butter king prawns, thyme chicken thighs, and garden larder salads.

Drinks flowed from the new menu, as the foraged cocktail range featuring hedgerow negroni and roasted dandelion espresso martini, was in popular demand.

The dancefloor at the Crazy Bear hotel venueThe dancefloor at the Crazy Bear hotel venue (Image: Fortitude Communications)

A feast featuring handmade afternoon tea favourites piled high kept the party going in the new residents’ lounge, which hosted a bespoke feasting table, vinyl record player and cocktail trolley.

Lauren Thompson, who has a weekly set on House FM and has played legendary club nights for Groove Odyssey and Fabric, took to the decks, followed by resident DJ Tony Nanton, who kept the tempo with a house music set in the Glasshouse.

Guests also enjoyed an outdoor cinema screening of Pulp Fiction, while a set of prizes were won through hook-a-duck on the lawn.

“The party provided the perfect moment to unveil our refreshed experience which captures the Crazy Bear’s spirit with a contemporary twist,” said Jen Needham, marketing director at the Crazy Bear.

“Every guest was treated to the exceptional hospitality set to become synonymous with the Crazy Bear.

“Party goers were led through a rabbit warren of intrigue spanning musical genres, leafy tropical hideaways and wild entertainment while being among the first to sample our exceptional new food and drink offering.

“Our menus and direction have changed, but the essence of the Crazy Bear remains unchanged. So, stand by for elevated dining, unforgettable parties and maverick entertainment as the next chapter unfolds.”

Founded in 1993, the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton is complete with 18 rooms, a cosy 16th century pub, an eclectic choice of indoor and outdoor spaces to eat and drink, plus secret garden and woodland.

It hosts weddings like no other and its public areas are dog friendly. Its sister site in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, has 35 individually designed bedrooms, restaurants, bar and an outdoor swimming pool.





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Clarkson, May, Hammond coming back to film new Grand Tour episode

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According to The Sun, the hosts will join YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman as well as social media star Francis Bourgeois in series seven.

Having presented Top Gear together for over a decade, the famed trio departed the BBC show back in 2015, moving on to Prime Video’s The Grand Tour.

READ MORE: Clarkson’s Farm star shares emotional message after exit from show

The petrol enthusiasts are expected to help ensure the show’s reboot gets off to a smooth and welcoming start, according to co-creator and TV producer Andy Wilman.

Mr Wilman, who is also executive producer of Clarkson’s Farm, told The Sun that the guys will do cameos as they “pass that baton on” in the series which debuts on Friday, September 4.

The TV producer told 3Bs radio at the Buckingham Literary Festival: “We’ve got three guys coming soon with a new Grand Tour and we’ve got behind them.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson has to pay £95 for his own Amazon Prime account

“We’re really supporting them. Our guys are in the shows doing cameos, so we’re wishing them well because we do want to pass that baton on.”

This will be the first time in almost two years the Top Gear originals, who went their own ways professionally, will be seen together since September 2024.

That was when The Grand Tour: One For The Road was released on Prime Video, marking an end to over two decades of Mr Clarkson, Mr May and Mr Hammond working together.





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Jeremy Clarkson has to pay for his own Amazon Prime account

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The 52-year-old said that neither she nor her boyfriend receives a free subscription from Amazon, even though they front one of the streamer’s biggest British shows.

Ms Hogan made the admission in an interview with content creator Lucas Stewart on his YouTube channel.

Asked directly whether she was given a complimentary Amazon Prime or Prime Video account, the Irish former model and actor replied: “I share my son’s.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson and Christian Horner team up to raise over £1m

“We don’t get any goodies.”

She went on to explain that sharing subscriptions is simply how many younger viewers now choose to spend their money.

“Children nowadays are just like, ‘Yeah, I’ll just get this subscription,’ and that’s their way of spending money whereas we used to buy cigarettes and more alcohol,” she said.

“This is their spending money, so I share it with him.”

Clarkson’s Farm, which follows Mr Clarkson’s attempts to run his Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds, has been one of Prime Video’s breakout UK successes since it launched in 2021.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson’s girlfriend reveals his ‘true colours’ amid ‘misconceptions’

Ms Hogan has become a key part of the series, often seen running the Diddly Squat Farm Shop and appearing alongside Mr Clarkson and farmer Kaleb Cooper.

In the interview, she also reflected on how the attention from the show has changed her life, but the Independent report focuses on the unusual fact that one of Prime Video’s best‑known on‑screen personalities still relies on a family login.

Amazon Prime currently costs £8.99 a month in the UK, with membership including access to Prime Video, music, deliveries and other services.

The company has tightened its rules on account sharing in recent years, but Ms Hogan’s comments suggest that, inside the Clarkson household at least, the stars are still paying customers.





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Jeremy Clarkson and Christian Horner team up to raise £1m

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Mr Clarkson, who lives in Oxfordshire, hosted a fundraising auction for Sir Chris’s Tour de 4 charity at a clay pigeon shoot in Northamptonshire, organised by Mr Horner, who lives near the Oxfordshire border close to Banbury.

The event, held at the Marston Estate, raised £1 million in a single afternoon, with much of the final total coming from an extraordinary intervention by Mr Clarkson, as The Times reports.

Speaking on his Sporting Misadventures podcast, Sir Chris, 50, said: “Jeremy Clarkson did the auction at the Tour de 4 clay shoot that Christian Horner put on and we raised £1 million in an afternoon.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson’s girlfriend reveals his ‘true colours’ amid ‘misconceptions’

“We got to £850,000 with all the tickets and the tables and the auction, and they wanted to hit £1 million.”

At that point, Mr Clarkson turned to the guests who had flown in by helicopter and asked for £10,000 from each of them.

Sir Chris revealed: “Jeremy said, ‘Right, there are people here who have arrived in helicopters.

“‘Everyone here who has got a helicopter, I want ten grand.’ So he went around the room going, ‘Ten grand from you, ten grand from you,’ and he got £150,000 from people, and that’s what made it up to £1 million.

“It was astonishing. I don’t think anybody else would have got away with doing that, but he has that presence. It was a fantastic afternoon, really good fun.”

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Sir Chris, a six-time Olympic gold medallist, founded the Tour de 4 cycle challenge after being diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.

He has since become a high-profile campaigner for better screening and awareness, using the event to “change the perception” of what it means to live with an advanced cancer diagnosis.

Mr Clarkson, known for Top Gear, The Grand Tour and Amazon’s Clarkson’s Farm, revealed earlier this year that he had undergone surgery for an aggressive form of prostate cancer after it was picked up in a routine medical.

He has since said he is in remission and urged men to get checked.

READ MORE: King Charles strips 10 people of honours in 2026 – check the list

Tour de 4 will return to Glasgow this September, starting and finishing at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

The inaugural ride attracted more than 5,000 participants and raised over £3 million for cancer charities, with this year’s event again supporting Macmillan Cancer Support, Breast Cancer Now, Cure Leukaemia, Prostate Cancer UK and Maggie’s.

Mr Hoy has said his diagnosis has changed the way he looks at each day. Speaking earlier this year, he reflected: “I never imagined that I’d be able to get to this point where I’m actually just living life and not just living life, but actually appreciating it more than ever.

“It’s just about appreciating the mundane fun of life, the mundane elements of life which can be wonderful.”





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