The 71-year-old ex-zoo owner said it was the ‘only one of its kind in the world’ as he wrapped up his journey. His most recent project was Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
07:00, 20 May 2026Updated 08:25, 20 May 2026
Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese and, Michael Palin enjoy one of Clubb’s lemurs(Image: Mirrorpix)
A beloved Cotswolds zoo whose exotic animals featured in a number of classic British films and TV shows has been forced to permanently close its doors.
Tragically, the zoo, “the only kind in the world,” closed in March, according to This Is Oxfordshire, when Jim Clubb retired.
Clubb established the famous TV offering, Amazing Animals, in 1977. Heythrop Zoo was then built as a purpose built location and film set in 1988.
The last film he worked on was Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which is due to be released in July.
It acted as a hub for all of Europe’s animal needs, and its furry and feathered friends appeared in the Harry Potter series, Mission: Impossible, The Mummy Returns, Stardust, Nativity, Sweeney Todd and The Golden Compass.
The zoo was home to camels, snakes, penguins and giraffes to name a few(Image: Wiki Commons)
Now 71, Clubb said the decision to close “has not been taken lightly” and thanked everyone for their support over the decades they have been running. He founded the zoo with his late ex-wife Sally.
CIubb has also become known for offering up his host of quirky animals to surrounding care homes. He recently ran an initiative where he took his penguins to visit a number of hospices.
He said: “It was always my dream to have a private zoo but I had to be able to support it.
“It has been my entire life. I have enjoyed every moment. The zoo was unique, it was the only the only one of its kind in the world. I loved the classic zoo architecture, I designed the giraffe house based on London Zoo’s, which is a listed building.”
All of Clubb’s animals have been re-homed across the UK(Image: Wiki Commons)
Clubb explained Heythrop was designed as an exaggerated version of a classic zoo with modern animal care at its heart, making it the perfect film or TV location.
It became one of the largest animal training centres for the audio-visual industry, with films, including The Legend of Tarzan and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, shot at its studio.
Clubb said: “I enjoyed doing the film Fierce Creatures, with John Cleese, and Our Zoo for the BBC.”
Clubb has worked with a host of celebrities, most recently Zendaya and Tom Holland(Image: Mirrorpix)
The zoo was never open to the public but welcomed visitors in for encounters, parties and open days.
“The joy it gave residents was enormous. We were inundated with requests, even after we announced the closure,” Clubb said.
All of the zoo’s animals have been re-homed in other zoos or private collections across the UK. The penguins, who have visited a number of care homes, are due to be transported to a private collector next week.
Clubb said he has many plans for his retirement including caring for his reptiles and tropical fish and continuing to write historical animal books with his son Jamie. He said the site and its Cotswold stone buildings will be repurposed as storage units.