Jeremy Clarkson was heartbroken after his pigs "died in alarming numbers".
Jeremy Clarkson and Lisa Hogan were devastated by deaths on their farm
The 'Clarkson's Farm' presenter and his girlfriend Lisa Hogan had been rearing pigs on his Diddly Squat Farm, but large numbers of the animals perished leaving the couple devastated.
Speaking at a launch event for the new series of his Amazon Prime Video show, he said: "It was just a heartbreaking time.
"I’d never, ever seen Lisa cry, not once, until all this started and was unfolding. It was terrible.
“It is weird, because you love them and you help birth them and you feed and nurture and care for them. I mean, you don’t say, ‘Let’s buy some pigs and hope they die’.
"I’ve always liked pigs. My mother used to buy me toy pigs every Christmas and birthday into my twenties, and I thought it would be fun to have them — then they all just died in alarming numbers."
He admitted it was a "horrific" period for the couple, and they have since suffered "another calamity".
He added: "It was absolutely horrific at the time, and we had another calamity with them just the other day, but by and large they’re now going OK.
“We’re getting more robust now, though, we’re a bit stronger at dealing with it.”
The 'Grand Tour' and former 'Top Gear' presenter admitted he was loving working on a reality show based on his Cotswolds farm because he didn't have to play a character anymore.
He explained: "On this show I don’t have to pretend to be someone else.
“You see, on 'The Grand Tour', Richard Hammond isn’t as stupid as he’s made out to be, and I’m not as bombastic as I’m made out to be, and James May isn’t quite as boring as he’s made out to be.
“So you’re playing a caricature, you’re playing a role, and you’re there to provoke and be stupid. But here you haven’t got any of that, so we’re just ourselves."
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