Jeremy Clarkson has become the latest celebrity to become a pub manager, buying a pub in Oxfordshire.
The former Top Gear presenter has a number of business ventures at Diddley Squat Farm – he already brews his own brand of beer and cider – and now owns The Windmill pub in Burford, Oxfordshire, just 10 miles from the farm. Fans would probably fit right into the role of pub manager, as this beer-guzzling, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed man is no stranger to conflict.
But the Clarkson's Farm star is just the latest celebrity to become a pub owner. From musicians to actors and models, here are some of the stars who have bought their own pubs.
Jade Thirlwall
Little Mix star Jade Thirwall runs cocktail bar Arbeia in her hometown of South Shields, Newcastle. The bar opened as the Red Door in 2019, with Little Mix bandmates Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock in attendance at the opening ceremony. It rebranded as Arbeia in 2020, but Black Magic singer Thirwall is still the owner.
Rick Astley
Never Gonna Give You Up singer Rick Astley is co-owner of London craft beer bar Mikkeller. Astley says he was inspired by brewer and childhood fan Mikkel Borg Bjergso and his fans to collaborate on Astley's Northern Hop Lager. Astley revealed on the website: “I met Mikkel in 2015 and through his enthusiasm and passion for real quality, I fell in love with beer all over again. London is an amazing city but it needs a Mikkeller bar. I'm really excited to be working with Mikkel and his amazing team to help create the UK's first Mikkeller bar. I'm sure we'll have some great times and great beer.”
Sir Ian McKellan
Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellan claims he's been sacked from his pub, The Grapes, in Limehouse. The popular watering hole is famous for its quiz nights, which McKellan is known to host. The 85-year-old actor told The One Show in 2023: “I don't pop in that often but I always do the Monday quiz. I was running the quiz. I was actually the quizmaster and I used to come up with all the questions for the quiz. It took me a whole day a week. 40 questions! I did that for a year and then my partner Sean said, 'We don't need you anymore!' I was sacked! Sacked from my own pub, with no pay.”
Jodie Kidd
Fashion model and TV presenter Jodie Kidd says she has put “blood, sweat and tears” into renovating and reopening her local pub, The Half Moon, in West Sussex. The traditional English pub hosts live music events and tasting nights, and is planning a big party to celebrate its seventh anniversary in August 2024. “Now that we've had it open for a few years, I've really started to appreciate the joys and hardships of being a landlady,” Kidd said.
Idris Elba
Luther star and DJ Idris Elba grew up in Hackney and is an admitted fan of East End watering holes. He told 50best.com: “When I go to a bar, there are two main types of bars I like to drink at. I like the old-fashioned ones, where there's sawdust on the floor, there's a dart board at the back, you know the bar staff by name and it's really relaxed. That's the kind of place I grew up in. And then I also like the opposite end of the spectrum, places that are a little more sophisticated, where it's not too rowdy, you can come for a quiet drink and feel a little special.” And this seems to be the vibe Elba is aiming for at the two bars he co-owns: wine bar Porto Noir in Kings Cross and cocktail bar The Parrot in Aldwych.
Ed Sheeran
Castle on the Hill singer Ed Sheeran has his own private pub, The Lancaster Rock, in a barn at his Suffolk home. But he also owns Bertie Blossoms, an upmarket pub in London's Notting Hill. “It's got really good beer and a good menu – basically everything you'd want in a bar,” Sheeran told podcast Table Manners. But he admits he feels more comfortable back home, saying, “I'm from Suffolk and that's where I feel most comfortable. I go to pubs and see people and think, 'That's nice', but in London it's more authentic.”
David Beckham
David Beckham lives the life of a country gentleman in the Cotswolds. Not only does he wear tweed, grow his own vegetables and keep chickens, but he also has a traditional English pub to pop into when he's in town. Beckham co-owns The Walmer Castle in Notting Hill with his friend Guy Ritchie, the gentleman director who also runs the Fitrovia pub, Lore of the Land. Beckham told Harper's Bazaar: “I love old man pubs and having a nice Sunday roast in front of an open fire surrounded by lots of old people. That's my ideal situation.”
Russell Brand
Russell Brand owns the Crown Inn in Pysil, Oxfordshire – but the TV presenter, who has faced allegations of rape and sexual assault after four women spoke out on Channel 4's Dispatches programme, uses the country inn not as a pub but as a base for his social media channels.
Nadine Coyle
Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle lived in Los Angeles for nine years, from 2006 to 2015, with former American football player Jason Bell. While living in Los Angeles, she opened a bar called Irish Mist, which closed in 2015. She confessed that she ran the bar with her family and “we all got a bit bored and thought it was really hard work!” She added, “Producers kept coming up to us and asking, 'Can we make this into a TV show?' And we always said, 'Absolutely not!'”
Neil Morrissey
Line of Duty actor and Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey brews his own beer and owns the Plume of Feathers pub in Stoke-on-Trent. Before starring in the hit BBC drama Line of Duty, he told the Daily Mirror: “Acting has been good for me but a lot of what I do now is just a TV factory. I find running a pub far more rewarding and much more creative.” Morrissey's pub made headlines last year when customers were left waiting for lunch on Christmas Day.
James Blunt
It's perhaps not so surprising that You're Beautiful singer James Blunt is a pub owner – he loves to talk about pubs. Blunt owns The Fox and Pheasant in Chelsea. He said: “I'm probably a lot more positive than the public's sentiment is, maybe because I've always had a half pint. So ultimately the answer is to come down to the pub.”
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