He later attended Pembroke College, Oxford where he studied theology and psychology and became Common Room President.

In the West End, he appeared with Michael Crawford in Billy at Drury Lane, sang Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd, played all the men in The Mitford Girls and General Peron in Evita.

It was during this acting period that he was drafted in to the newly formed English Wine Tasting Team, who won competitions against France, Germany and the USA, among others.

He sang the baritone role – and Sam Gamgee's song – in the BBC adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and recorded Stephen Oliver's A Man of Feeling for Granada TV.

In December 2011, Clarke was one of the team in the BBC Two programme James May's Man Lab Christmas Special.

While performing in Sheila Hancock's Dandy Dick, he joined the Sunday Express as their first wine writer.

Clarke has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, including Food and Drink, the long-running BBC Food show, for which he became well known in the UK for his stint as the wine expert alongside Jilly Goolden, and A Question of Taste and The Wine Programme for BBC Radio 4.

He was also awarded an Officier de l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the French Government.

[13] Clarke was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and journalism.