James May takes cheeky dig at Jeremy Clarkson's pub saying his is more 'relaxed'

Top Gear and The Grand Tour star James May sat down with Al Arabiya News presenter Tom Burges Watson for an exclusive interview, discussing the possibility of a reunion with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.

But not before he took a sly dig at Jeremy's pub The Farmer's Dog in Burford, Oxfordshire. May, 62, who also owns a pub The Royal Oak at Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire, described on TripAdvisor as "the perfect pub", was asked by Burges Watson who was the better landlord.

May said of his pub: "Mine's much better. I think that's the main difference. I haven't actually been to Jeremy's pub. I've met a few people who have. It sounds like, well, from what I can gather, he's gone for a sort of mass throughput model."

The laidback star claimed that although he hadn't actually tried the food at Jeremy's pub or even been there his was better from what people had told him and insisted his was much more like a "regular English pub" rather than a celebrity pub.

The Farmer's Dog has garnered mixed reviews since its opening in August last year with hundreds queueing for hours to get in.

"So he's got hundreds of people queuing up to have his burger, whereas ours is a little bit more relaxed. It's a village pub where people come. The food is great. We've got a fabulous chef and team of chefs. So mine would feel more like, more like a regular English pub. It's not, it's not old fashioned. He hasn't got horse brass on the walls or any of that tweezer. There's no Morris dancing. I won't allow that. It is just a pub."

In the battle of the boozers, May tipped his on-screen colleague and close pal in pub hygiene ratings. The Food Standards agency ranked James' pub a stellar five out of five, with Clarkson's got a lesser, though admirable, four out of five, as reported by What's The Jam.

May was also asked the inevitable question about a Top Gear reunion in the exclusive chat.

He said: "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. 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.

"There's nothing wrong with the comeback, but there comes a point where you have to draw a line under it. And as we used to say, land it safely rather than crash it. We've exhausted our take on the subject. It's probably time for a more modern one and we're already pretty old. So if we did a comeback in 20 years time, it would be in bath chairs, and I think it would be rather unseemly. I really don't see it happening."