Clarkson's Farm Kaleb Cooper addresses 'move away from Chipping Norton' in new TV move
EXCLUSIVE: Kaleb Cooper has addressed whether he'll be appearing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in the future, amid rumours of a move away from Clarkson's Farm.
Kaleb Cooper had barely so much as left his hometown until recently - but could he be preparing for a major move away from Clarkson's Farm to the Australian jungle? Express.co.uk was there to capture the action at London's Cambridge Theatre this week as the 25-year-old farmer divulged whether a stint on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! could be for him.
Earlier in the show, he'd joked that if he ventures more than five minutes from his home, he instantly "incurs a nosebleed". However, perhaps surprisingly, he then admitted that a trip to the jungle - with all the tarantulas and tribulations it might entail - is a risk he'd be willing to take.
"I'd love to do it, but I haven't got a passport yet," he confided. "I'm just conquering my fear of leaving Chipping Norton!"
His show on Monday night, part of a nationwide tour which ends on March 8, marked his sixth visit to London - but he still has worries about the big city. "I have a massive fear of big buildings - just imagine if it all collapses!" he exclaimed.
"The other thing I'm scared of is balloons. It's not them popping - it's when people grab hold of them and they squeak," he shuddered. Unfortunately for Kaleb, some are present backstage - but he says he's got a "five-metre radius" around them and "no-one is allowed to go near them".
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Prior to becoming famous as Jeremy Clarkson's sidekick on Clarkson's Farm, Kaleb had never ventured outside the area where he grew up, although he joked that he'd made a brief stop in London once on a school art trip.
"I stayed on the coach - there were too many people!" he joked.
Kaleb also gave fans a fascinating insight into how his early entrepreneurial spirit developed, explaining that although he started his first business aged 12, he hated school.
"My attendance at school was like 5 percent - I thought that was quite good actually, but they fined me £50 per week for not going in!" he indignantly exclaimed.
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Fortunately, by that point, Kaleb had more than 100 chickens and his own thriving local egg sales business - and he used some of his profits to help his mum pay off his weekly fines.
"My mum said she couldn't afford to pay the fines [but] I said: 'Mum, relax, I'm making loads of money!'" he chuckled.
"I paid the £50 per week fine for five weeks, but I thought the school was taking the p***. I told them: 'You're taking 15% of the profits from my egg company!'"
Although Kaleb admits he felt "claustrophobic" in a classroom, there was one exception: he was happy to go in on Fridays, as he'd built up a customer base among his teachers and could offload "two dozen eggs" to them each time.
Tickets to The World According To Kaleb – Kaleb Goes On Tour can be purchased via: www.kaleblive.com
The almost sold-out tour continues into March and will conclude in Kaleb’s hometown of Chipping Norton - with a special charity performance at the Chipping Norton Theatre on March 11 in aid of their 50th Anniversary Campaign.