Jeremy Clarkson has announced he is in remission from prostate cancer, with his daughter Emily Clarkson echoing his call for men to undergo testing. The 66-year-old television presenter revealed in the latest episodes of the fifth series of Clarkson's Farm that he had been diagnosed with “aggressive” prostate cancer, which was discovered early. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Clarkson confirmed a PSA test two months ago showed no indication of cancer.
Daughter’s plea and social media campaign
Emily Clarkson, a writer, shared a black-and-white image on social media of her embracing her father while holding drinks. In the post, she included a quote from Clarkson's interview: “This is why I have to say to everybody who's reading this, please, please, please go and get checked. It's not uncomfortable, it's not undignified, and it's a no-brainer. I did, and that's why I'm sitting here talking to you.” She also tagged the charity Prostate Cancer UK.
Support group with Lord Cameron and others
Clarkson revealed he has met with former Prime Minister Lord David Cameron to discuss their prostate cancer diagnoses alongside other public figures. “I was talking to David about it earlier this morning. He said the amount of people that come up to him is mostly in public conveniences and say, if you hadn't owned up to it, I wouldn't have got checked, and they wouldn't have found it,” Clarkson said. He added that a group including food writer Giles Coren meets regularly to compare medical scores, noting, “Everybody has different Gleason scores, and everybody has different Stockholm and PSA scores. We all compare notes and I actually get muddled with what mine were.”
Emotional impact and treatment complications
Clarkson admitted the diagnosis “landed harder than I thought it would.” He reflected on the bravery of others with terminal cancer, such as former Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy, saying, “To be told your cancer is inoperable and to still carry on, you'd have to be incredibly brave.” Speaking from a hospital bed at the season finale, Clarkson described complications during treatment caused by resuming blood thinners for his heart issues. “That was horrific and it was all my own fault. I'd been on drugs for heart issues and I had to come off them during the cancer treatment. Two or three weeks after the cancer operation, I thought I'd better put myself back on those blood thinners. Big mistake, huge,” he said, noting it led to an emergency.
Background and health history
The diagnosis came nearly two years after Clarkson underwent a heart procedure to fit two stents. His doctor had advised him to stop working and take up golf. Clarkson, who previously quit smoking after contracting pneumonia on holiday in Spain, described himself as “without a doubt, officially, the world's luckiest man.” In a post on the X account of his pub, The Farmer's Dog, he urged: “The reason why I'm fine is because the doctors caught the prostate cancer early, and they caught it early because I got tested. … Look 10, 12,000 people, men, to be honest, men, die every year in the UK from prostate cancer, don't be one of them, get tested.”
Clarkson’s Farm and future
Clarkson's Farm follows the presenter and his crew managing Diddly Squat Farm near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Since taking over the farm in 2019, Clarkson has become a vocal advocate for farmers, attending a protest in November 2024 against inheritance tax on farmland. The sixth series is scheduled to air in 2027.
