Clarkson Back In The Driver's Seat In Live Show

Jeremy Clarkson has reunited with his former Top Gear crew in Belfast to front a live stadium spin-off of the BBC2 motoring show.

It was Clarkson's first public appearance with Richard Hammond and James May since he was dropped by the BBC in March following a fracas with a producer.

The live show opened with footage of Clarkson throwing a hefty left hand. The man himself then made his entrance in a hovercraft to the music of boxing anthem Eye Of The Tiger.

The performance at the city's Odyssey Arena, which kicks off a six-month tour of the event, was packed with irony, with repeated swipes at paperwork and lawyers, and was predictably politically incorrect.

Clarkson, 55, told of his liking for the Alfa Romeo, with an engine he compared to somebody screaming in your ear, which he demonstrated on Hammond.

"All of us have friends who have got flaws, they turn up late, they have smelly armpits," he said.

"To err is human, that is the great thing about the car, it has faults like we all do, that is the great thing about that car, it has faults like we all do, me in particular."

The trio told the 5,500-strong crowd that they decided to start the tour in "Bel-Fast" because "it is a long way from the Daily Mail offices".

Clarkson made a reference to his former BBC career: "This TV lark is much harder, you have to remember your lines, remember where to stand, you cannot be rude about your colleagues, you cannot swear."

He also hinted at a return to television when he said the team were not in America - yet.

"We have had a lot of interest from all around the world in our TV programme and who knows what may happen," he said.

The global tour of the rebranded Clarkson, Hammond And May Live team will end in London in November.

Top Gear Live had run for several years but the BBC stripped its branding from the show after announcing on 25 March that Clarkson's TV contract would not be renewed.