Within minutes of meeting her, Jeremy Clarkson offered the pub owner almost £1 million.
The 64-year-old former Top Gear presenter is busy developing his Cotswolds farm for the hit Amazon series Clarkson's Farm.
Keen to find a pub where he could sell his products, Clarkson arranged to meet the landlady at The Windmill, near Burford in Oxfordshire, and reportedly offered her a large sum of money over a cup of coffee.
The pub is set in the heart of the Cotswold countryside, overlooking the Windrush Valley and is just 10 miles from the presenter's Diddly Squat Farm.
The presenter hopes to transform the venue, set in five acres of private land, into a pub serving only British produce and offering farmers free pints.
79-year-old innkeeper Jackie Walker was invited to Diddly Squat to discuss the terms of a possible deal for The Windmill.
She told MailOnline: “A film crew came into the pub and before I knew it someone was knocking on the door with Clarkson asking if I was interested in selling.”
Mrs Walker, who opened the country pub with her late husband Alan in 1983, visited Clarkson's home near the village of Chadlington to discuss terms over a cup of coffee.
She said, “The first thing Jeremy said to me was, I assume you want a lot of money for this.”
It has been reported that nearly £1 million was offered, and Mrs Walker accepted the offer. Clarkson has secured the freedom of the pub, which is not affiliated with a brewery, meaning he can sell his own beer on the premises.
Mrs Walker said: “I had to laugh, but that's Jeremy Clarkson.” She said she had no intention of selling the business but was unhappy with the way it was being run. She added: “I'm not getting any younger.”
“I assume he's going to turn it into a TV series. I really hope he can make it a big success and get it back to the way it was. My husband and I have had so much fun running it.”
Clarkson was looking for a pub where he could market his own products, including his Hawkstone beer.
Renovation work has begun on The Windmill, which Clarkson described as “full of dead rats” with “illegal” toilets.
Mrs Walker, who retired from the pub's day-to-day running when her husband died 11 years ago, has given her permission to leaseholders. She hopes Clarkson can make the pub as successful as it was in its early years, when it was popular with locals and tourists alike.
She said the pub was often 'packed' in the early years and had a reputation for good food, especially good food.
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