Jeremy Clarkson, 59, returned to ITV with the new series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? last Saturday.
After the show, he responded to Twitter users who criticised his behaviour towards the contestants.
One user wrote: “Why is @JeremyClarkson so rude to all the contestants on #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire???”
In view of his 7.18 million followers, he replied: “I’m not. Only to those who know full well they won’t get past £16,000. Keep watching!!!”
The ITV viewer then responded: “And obnoxious to go with it. You should count yourself lucky to have a job on TV.”
Another Twitter user branded the presenter a “p***k”, writing: “#WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire @JeremyClarkson is acting the p***k tonight!
“Don’t think he was so liberal with the insults last year, must be looking for a ratings boost?”
They added: “And now that @JeremyClarkson faces a higher intellect he’s back in his shell! #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire.”
Jeremy replied: “Bo you mean ‘box’. I think you probably do.”(sic)
Elaborating on their tweet, the Twitter user wrote: “Thanks for acknowledging my tweet.
“To answer your question, No, I think the shell is a better analogy, if a contestant had correctly pulled you up on the insults then you would have been ‘put in your box’.
“You retreated into your shell from the smarter contestant.”
“OK. Reasonable,” Jeremy simply responded.
Earlier this week, Jeremy Clarkson spoke of an “uncomfortable” move on the show.
The Grand Tour star he would be willing to cover the losses incurred by a contestant on the show if his advice led to them missing out on a bigger prize.
Since the show was revamped, potential millionaires now have the option of asking host Jeremy for his advice on a question, in addition to their other lifelines, Ask the Audience, Phone a Friend and 50/50.
He told The Sun he would reimburse any contestant who he led astray within reason.
“If it was a low amount – in the hundreds – definitely,” he said.
“If I got it wrong though I’d have an uncomfortable night.”
The host then highlighted he has so far been lucky with offering his advice and has successfully helped contestants.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? airs Saturday and Sunday nights on ITV.