Jeremy Clarkson hits out at 'woke' BBC drama: 'People will stop watching'

star has expressed his annoyance that the chose to produce another drama about a "dreary Victorian woman from some god-awful Jane Austen book that I was forced to study at school" instead of adapting his friend Brian Klein's novel The Spider Covenant. Complaining they had produced as yet another period piece featuring a familiar formula he groaned about the content of the show. Explaining a horse and carriage pulls up outside a grand house at the beginning he observed "nothing of any great importance happens for about 16 hours". Clearly not a fan of the genre he described period dramas as typically boring productions in his column.

This came after Jeremy described his friend and former colleague's book as "a good read" and suggested it would make "an excellent mini series on TV". It tells the story of sinister businessmen using money the Nazis squirrelled away after World War Two to fund a next-generation AI project which will put Hitler sympathisers in power around the world.

The author worked with Jeremy on Top Gear directing every single one of the studio segments. When Clarkson's tenure on that show ended he moved with him to The Grand Tour.

The presenter continued his rant claiming the BBC have contradictions in their historical productions. He said they go to "immense lengths to make sure the stitching on everyone's bonnet is correct for the time and that the swords are made from period metal".

However, he criticised the casting for featuring "people in wheelchairs and people with Mexican accents" in 17th-century stories.

He also fumed about discussions about global warming being included in period dramas.

Despite his apparent dislike for the genre he did have praise for one production - albeit a non BBC one.

He praised Heath Ledger's film A Knight's Tale as the exception that "got round all of this" using it as an example of how period dramas could avoid the typical pitfalls he associates with BBC historical productions.

Its 14th-century story is intentionally anachronistic, featuring modern pop culture references with a soundtrack featuring 1970s music.

Ignoring the whimsical concept he suggested A Knight's Tale managed to overcome the conventional problems that plague historical television and film productions. "It was brilliant. Mainly because behind all the period cleverness, there was a good story. Which you're unlikely to get from a book that sends most readers into a deep sleep by page four," he wrote.