Clarkson was remarking on Scanlon’s new BBC Radio 2 gig as she takes over from Sara Cox
Jeremy Clarkson didn’t hold back while giving his verdict on Angela Scanlon’s new position at BBC Radio 2.
The presenter and former Strictly contestant, 42, is replacing Sara Cox on the drivetime show slot every weekday from 4pm to 7pm.
Cox moved to the breakfast show slot earlier this summer to take over from Scott Mills, who was sacked following an investigation over alleged serious sexual offences against a boy under 16.
Scanlon shared her excitement over her new role at the weekend, joking that she will expose all of her listeners’ “dirty little secrets”.
Now, Clarkson, 66, has weighed in on the Irish presenter’s gig, mostly by focusing on how “attractive” he finds her.
“I will always watch a show hosted by Angela Scanlon, partly because she’s a good presenter but mostly – and I hope she doesn’t mind me saying this – because I find her very attractive,” he wrote in his column for The Sun.
Jeremy Clarkson praised ‘attractive’ Angela Scanlon
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Clarkson, who has been dating Irish former model Lisa Hogan for nearly a decade, added: “Which is why I was extremely disappointed to hear this week that the BBC has given her a big new job… on the radio.”
Earlier this year, the former Top Gear host hinted that he might finally propose to Hogan.
He joked that marrying her could offer a solution while discussing the challenges facing British farmers during the fifth series of Clarkson’s Farm.
Chatting with adviser Charlie Ireland about how overseas farmers can often sell into the UK market more cheaply than domestic producers, Clarkson quipped: “If only I knew someone I could marry who was Irish.”
A member of the production team fired back: “That could cost you a lot more.”
Clarkson and Hogan met in 2017 after mutual friends introduced them at a Christmas party. Hogan has previously admitted she wasn’t immediately won over by the former Top Gear presenter.
“I thought, ‘Ok, you’ve got a bit of a rep’ – so he had to really court me!” she told The Sun.
“He courted me for a solid three months!… he does make an effort to make me laugh a lot, which I really appreciate. And we do get on.”
Clarkson was married twice prior to meeting Hogan. He wed his first wife, Alexandra James, in 1989, but the marriage lasted just six months and they separated the following year.
He later married his second wife, Frances Cain. They spent more than two decades together and welcomed three children, daughters Emily and Katya, and son Finlo, before splitting.
Hogan was also previously married to Baron Steven Bentinck, with whom she shares three children with, before their marriage ended in 2011.
Clarkson with his longtime partner Lisa Hogan
Scanlon’s Radio 2 gig was revealed last week after she had a temporary stint hosting the programme earlier this year.
“I feel like I had a little summer fling, and it was all fun, but we only got to know the best of each other,” she said while announcing the news on Cox’s show.
“And I want warts and all, like I want to know the listeners’ dirty little secrets, I can’t wait. We’re going steady now, or at least that’s the plan.”
Earlier this year, Scanlon was part of the BBC’s Eurovision coverage alongside Rylan Clark, hosted The Apprentice spin-off Unfinished Business on BBC Two, and has presented ITV’s This Morning.
