Clarkson visited the town while he was road testing a BMW i8 for the hit BBC series and revealed that his motivation for choosing Whitby was because "you get the best fish and chips in the world there.”

Taking stock of the vehicle’s performance while overlooking the Esk Valley on his way into Whitby he described the views as "breathtaking”.

The controversial presenter later drove his BMW along the town’s west pier before deliberating over a "very difficult choice” of whether to dine on haddock or cod, eventually settling on the latter.