TV icon Jeremy Clarkson is battling cancer.
The Top Gear personality, 66, revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis in the final two episodes of season five of Clarkson’s Farm.
During the episode, which just dropped on Prime Video, Clarkson suddenly tells Charlie Ireland and Caleb Cooper, “I have cancer.”
Caleb responds incredulously, “No, I haven’t. Where?” Clarkson responded, “Who cares where it is. I’ve known since May.”
He then explained that when he “disappeared the week before last,” he went to the doctor and “had a biopsy.” He described the cancer as “aggressive” but said it was “really early stage.”
“I was praying that I would be able to go for treatment once the harvest is complete, but it looks like I’m going to have a rough patch on the way,” he added.
An emotional Caleb tells Clarkson to “take care of himself” and “call me if you need anything.”
Clarkson went on to say, “Listen, I’m not being silly. It’s about two weeks, maybe three weeks away. You have to go in for surgery. And the surgery is quick and it’s over, but your body won’t be able to move for a while.”
He said he was “not thrilled” with the news.
Before Clarkson drove away with his girlfriend Lisa Hogan, Caleb shook the reality star’s hand and told him not to worry about anything about the farm.
Later, while conversing with Ireland, Caleb, Hogan, and Gerald Cooper, Clarkson lamented, “I had coronary heart disease earlier this year and ended the year with cancer.”
He added that the team should not “dwell on” the “bad things” and should “focus on the good things that happened.”
When asked by Caleb when he would know if the treatment was “working,” Clarkson explained, “There will be blood tests and then we’ll know.”
“Not for another few weeks,” he added. “Come on, cheer up, I guess it worked.”
The series then shows Clarkson in a hospital bed saying, “Season 5 started with me in a hospital bed, and now Season 5 ends, I’m back in a hospital bed.”
He also admitted that he “doesn’t know what’s going to happen” after “part of the treatment” “fails”.
“What I was saying is, if this all goes well, I’ll see you in season six, and if not, I won’t,” he explains. “Everyone please be careful.”
Before sharing the news, Clarkson hinted on her Instagram Reels that her “low-key” season won’t be easy. “It’s a difficult watch,” he said of the episode. “They’re really, really difficult.”
Fans flooded the comment thread with messages of support, with one person writing: “Please don’t stop showing us your farm. We love it ❤️.” Another chimed in: “But I love you for showing me the good, the bad and the ugly ❤️.”
A third quipped: “Clarkson as Prime Minister.”
A representative for Mr. Clarkson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
