Jeremy Clarkson sat down with Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland and told them he had cancer. The scene closes the fifth season of Clarkson’s Farm, which hit Prime Video on Wednesday, June 17.
Clarkson, 66, said he went for a medical in May, later had a biopsy, and was told the cancer was aggressive. It had also been found at a “really early stage,” he said. The scenes were filmed last year. At first he did not say where the cancer was. Later in the episode, after treatment, he revealed it was in his prostate and said the affected part had been treated.
He had warned followers on social media beforehand. The show is normally meant to be “bucolic and charming and cheerful,” he wrote, and the last two episodes were not.
A second hospital stay
The season had already included heart surgery for blocked coronary arteries. By the end, Clarkson was back in a hospital bed, remarking that the series had both begun and ended with him in one. He said some of the treatment had “gone awry” and that he expected to be in hospital for a while. His sign-off to viewers was conditional: if the treatment worked, he would see them for season six.
Clarkson also pressed one point. Had he not been checked, and the problem not caught early, he said, the outcome could have been very different.
What the NHS says about checks
Prostate cancer often causes no symptoms early on, according to the NHS. When symptoms do show up, they can include trouble urinating, a weak flow, needing to go more often, blood in urine or semen, erection problems, lower back pain or unexplained weight loss.
A PSA blood test can help check for prostate conditions, but it is not perfect, and a high reading can have non-cancerous causes. Routine PSA testing is not offered to all men on the NHS. Men aged 50 or over can ask their GP about it. Anyone worried about symptoms or risk should talk to a doctor sooner rather than later.
The show has been here before. Gerald Cooper, a well-loved face on the series, earlier revealed his own prostate cancer diagnosis and later said he was cancer-free. He helped raise £28,500 for Prostate Cancer UK through a racehorse syndicate called The Mullet.
Clarkson has given no detailed medical update beyond what is in the programme. All of season five is now streaming on Prime Video.
