Clarkson said: ‘If I hadn’t have got myself checked out and they hadn’t caught the problem early, this could well have been my last harvest.’ Photograph: Harry Borden/The Guardian
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer last summer and had an operation to remove 10% of his prostate, eight months after he underwent heart surgery for blocked coronary arteries.
In the final two episodes of the fifth series of his Prime Video documentary, Clarkson’s Farm, the 66-year-old presenter told his farm manager, Kaleb Cooper, and his land agent, Charlie Ireland: “I’ve got cancer.”
In the scenes, which were filmed last year and released on Tuesday night, the former Top Gear host added: “I had a medical, remember, back in May? I disappeared off the other week and I had a biopsy and it is cancer, and it’s aggressive.”
He said he “wasn’t thrilled” to receive the diagnosis but that it had been caught at a “really early stage”.
He said: “If I hadn’t have 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.”
When Cooper asked him what type of cancer it was, he replied: “Where it is, is of no concern to anybody.”
But in later scenes, after undergoing a procedure, he revealed it was in his prostate. “The prostate, 10% of it’s dead,” he said. “The 10% where the cancer is.”
At the end of the series, he is filmed in a hospital bed. “So 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,” he said, referring to the earlier heart operation. “Some of the treatment has gone awry, let’s say. I’ll probably be here for a little while.”
He told his viewers: “What I wanted to say was: if this is all successful, I’ll see you for season six. And if it isn’t, I won’t. Take care, everyone.”
On Tuesday evening he warned fans on social media he had some “sombre news” with regard to Clarkson’s Farm. “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 sounded emotional as he added: “They’re really, really difficult.”
Following the episodes’ release, charity Prostate Cancer UK thanked Clarkson for sharing his diagnosis and treatment saying it would raise “vital awareness”.
Chiara De Biase, the charity’s fundraising and health strategy director, said: “Thankfully he found the disease at an early stage, but sadly this is still not the experience of many men across the UK.
“Over 10,000 dads, brothers, sons and friends are diagnosed too late for a cure every year, and today the responsibility to know if you’re at higher risk and to act on it rest entirely on men’s shoulders. This must change.
“Any men worried by Jeremy’s story should take our 30 second online risk checker or have a chat with their GP about a quick and simple blood test to check for any signs.”
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK, accounting for 28% of all new male cancer cases, according to Cancer Research UK.
Last June, Clarkson had urged men to go for prostate checkups, saying: “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. What’s not to like?”
There is no national NHS screening programme for prostate cancer, but men aged 50 or over – and those aged 45 or older who have a strong family history of prostate cancer or are of a Black or African-Caribbean ethnicity – can request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test from their GP.