Oxford News
Jeremy Clarkson bids final goodbye to Clarkson’s Farm favourite
Agricultural auctioneer Cheffins features in series five of the Prime Video show, which has been released across this month.
Appearing in episode six, released on Wednesday (June 10), the auctioneer was called in to value and sell one of Mr Clarkson’s most famed pieces of kit, a 350-horsepower 2016 Deutz-Fahr tractor.
Approached by the programme’s producers in March 2025, Cheffins handled the sale of the tractor, which had been consigned directly from Diddly Squat Farm and featured prolifically throughout series four of the TV show.
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It went under the hammer at the Cheffins Monthly Machinery Sale at Sutton, near Ely, on Monday 9th June 2025, drawing a crowd of Clarkson fans.
Having first visited Diddly Squat to assess the tractor, Oliver Godfrey, Head of Machinery Sales at Cheffins, provided a valuation in April 2025 before entering it into the firm’s well-established monthly sale.
As seen in the episode, Clarkson said: “The green Lambo hadn’t turned a wheel in weeks, so I decided to sell it, which meant getting it valued by an agricultural auctioneer.”
Following the tractor being inspected by Oliver Godfrey, Head of Machinery Sales at Cheffins, Mr Clarkson asked: “So I would be quite keen to hear what you think you could get for it.”
Mr Godfrey replied: “It’s not the easiest thing to sell in the world, I’ll be honest, but I would look somewhere in the region of between £50,000 and £60,000.”
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Mr Clarkson then responded: “It’s quite a lot less than I paid for it… I paid £80,000.”
However, the tractor itself proved a magnet for attention on sale day.
Modified by the 66-year-old himself with a bespoke cab lift and Lamborghini branding, it drew strong interest from both serious buyers and Diddly Squat fans.
With 3,180 hours on the clock, it finally sold for £70,500 to a UK-based regular buyer, following a total of 62 bids.
Mr Clarkson, accompanied by farming contractor and co-star Kaleb Cooper, attended the sale at Cheffins’ purpose-built auction facility, with filming taking place throughout the day.
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The pair toured the 40-acre sale ground, discussing the diverse range of machinery on offer.
Mr Clarkson remarked: “Up for sale was everything from high-end tracked tractors to characters from Pixar.”
As the Deutz-Fahr entered the drive-through auction hall, he predicted: “Here it is. There’s going to be a frenzy of bidding…”
As the bidding gathered pace, he added: “We are actually getting closer to the £80,000 that I had paid for it.”
When the hammer finally fell at £70,500, both the former Top Gear presenter and Kaleb Cooper appeared delighted with the result.
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Summing up the outcome, Mr Clarkson joked: “Well, it was a financial hit, but it wasn’t a financial kick in the nuts.”
Oliver Godfrey, Head of Machinery Sales at Cheffins, commented: “Clarkson’s Farm has done a huge amount to raise awareness of the realities of farming life in the UK.
“With its massive ratings, Jeremy Clarkson has brought the challenges and economic pressures facing farmers to a much broader audience, both here and internationally.
“It’s been a real boost for the industry’s profile, and many farmers are genuinely grateful for that.
“We were therefore really pleased to be invited to work with Jeremy on the sale of the Deutz-Fahr tractor.
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“In true Clarkson style, he’d added a few entertaining modifications — particularly the lift, which was unlike anything I’ve seen before, along with the Lamborghini badges — and these certainly got people talking and added to the appeal on the day.
“It’s not every week you find yourself valuing a tractor at Diddly Squat Farm, and it was a memorable experience from start to finish, especially meeting the wider team.
“The sale attracted strong competition, and we’re pleased it achieved a good result with a regular buyer. Working with Jeremy and Kaleb was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
“As one of the most-watched shows across UK streaming platforms, it was fantastic for Cheffins to be involved, and we’re grateful to Amazon for the opportunity.”
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
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The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
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Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
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“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
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Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
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“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
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