Jeremy Clarkson is the UK's sexiest man - and that gives the rest of us blokes some hope too

I don’t know who casts the votes, or by which algorithm this has come to pass - but for a second year in a row, TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been named as the UK’s sexiest man. The ex-journalist, 64, fended off competition from the likes of Tom Holland and Cillian Murphy to take the top gong once again.

In the past few years, the car enthusiast has turned his attentions towards agriculture, as covered by the Amazon show Clarkson’s Farm. Over the course of three seasons, he has gone from incompetent oaf to profiteering farmer, documenting just how tough British farmers have it while remaining conscious of the privileged position his Amazon contract has placed him in.

The annual IllicitEncounters poll has put him in first place for a second year running, with a score of nine out of 10 from the site’s 2,000 users.

Jessica Leoni, a spokesperson for the website, said: “Clarkson and his farm is a bit like Noah's ark, and just like the animals in that story, his victory in the Sexiest Man vote has come in twos.”

Speaking to the Daily Mail, she added: “We all know about his brash persona, but the latest series of Diddly Squat has shown he can tug at heartstrings too - and clearly his farmer look continues to set hearts racing.”

Each morning, us journalists sit down with the editors (virtually) and discuss our story ideas for each day. When this came up, some female colleagues scoffed at the idea that Clarkson could somehow win a poll like this - and with good reason. His outspoken nature has often landed him in hot water, particularly with his controversial comments about Meghan Markle.

Besides that, he’s not exactly a great looker when compared to people like Idris Elba and Tom Holland, the latter of whom being such a heart-throb that he even turns my married head (but not my wife’s, strangely). But while our female reporters have rubbished the poll, I’m writing this to argue the polar opposite.

A website full of people wanting affairs has looked at what’s on offer - from Hollywood superstars to literal royalty - and decided that a brash, ageing man with a beer belly is the sexiest man in the UK. And that gives the rest of us blokes some hope too.

The UK’s sexiest man is someone who hates exercise, isn’t afraid to speak his mind and yet, is open to showing his vulnerable side. Viewers of season three of Clarkson’s Farm will have become all too familiar with this, after he and partner Lisa Hogan broke down over the deaths of their piglets.

Men and women alike are held to such impossible standards over how we are perceived (and social media certainly hasn’t helped). So for a poll like this to indicate to us blokes that it’s okay to cry, we don’t need six-pack abs, dodgy hairlines are okay and we shouldn’t be so scared of being “cancelled” by the online masses for speaking out of turn... well, it’s a start at least.