Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer last summer. The 66-year-old former Top Gear host disclosed the news during the final two episodes of the fifth series of his Amazon Prime Video show, Clarkson's Farm.
In scenes filmed last year and released this week, Clarkson told his farm manager Kaleb Cooper and land agent Charlie Ireland about his diagnosis. "I had a medical back in May and I disappeared off to have a biopsy. It is cancer, and it's aggressive," he explained. However, he emphasized that doctors had caught the problem at an early stage.
Clarkson underwent a procedure to remove 10 percent of his prostate where the cancer was located. This came eight months after he had heart surgery to address blocked coronary arteries. Despite the serious health challenges, he expressed optimism about his future on the farm. "If I hadn't got myself checked out and they hadn't caught the problem early, this could well have been my last harvest. It's only because they did catch it early, there's every hope that I'll be harvesting this farm for many, many years to come," he said.
The final episodes show Clarkson in a hospital bed following treatment complications. "We started season five in a hospital bed and here we are at the end of season five, I'm back in a hospital bed. Some of the treatment has gone awry, let's say," he noted.
Before the episodes aired, Clarkson warned viewers on social media that the final installments would be difficult to watch. "Ordinarily we try to keep the show bucolic and charming and cheerful. But the final two episodes which drop in the middle of the night tonight are none of those things really. They're a difficult watch," he said, speaking with evident emotion.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK, accounting for 28 percent of all new male cancer cases, according to Cancer Research UK. Men aged 50 or over can request a prostate-specific antigen blood test from their GP, though there is no national NHS screening programme.
Last June, Clarkson had publicly encouraged men to seek prostate checkups. "I've had too many friends go down with prostate cancer, and all it takes to get on top of the situation early is a moment or two of being a bit cross-eyed. You get the all-clear and the doc goes home happy," he said at the time.
Clarkson's Farm has become one of Amazon's most popular shows since debuting in 2021. The series follows his efforts to operate a working farm in the Cotswolds and has been praised for highlighting challenges facing British agriculture. The show has been renewed for multiple seasons.