Jeremy Clarkson, the former Top Gear star and host of the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, has revealed that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Clarkson disclosed the diagnosis during the final episodes of the fifth season of Clarkson’s Farm, the Amazon series he currently fronts, saying he has known about the illness since May.
“I have cancer,” Clarkson tells Charlie Ireland and Kaleb Cooper in the episode. When Cooper asked where, Clarkson replied: “Where it is is nobody’s business.”
Clarkson said he had disappeared for a short time to undergo a series of medical tests, including a biopsy, after which he was diagnosed with cancer that was described as “aggressive.” He stressed, however, that the disease had been found at a very early stage.
“I’m not stupid. It will happen in about two weeks, maybe three. I’ll have to undergo surgery, and the procedure itself is relatively short, but the body is out of action for a while afterward,” he said.
After receiving the required treatment, Clarkson said he would undergo further blood tests, only then learning more about his condition. Later in the episode, the presenter is seen in the hospital.
“I started season five in a hospital bed, and now we’re at the end of it and I’m in a hospital bed again,” he said.
Clarkson added that “part of the treatment did not go as planned,” then told viewers: “What I wanted to say is that if everything works, I’ll see you in season six. And if not, then not.”
Ahead of the release of the final episodes of the fifth season on Amazon’s streaming service, Clarkson posted on Instagram warning viewers of “sad news” and describing the episodes as “very hard watching.” The season ends with the words: “Look after yourselves, all of you.”
Clarkson, 66, is one of the most recognizable and controversial figures on British television. He rose to fame as a presenter of the motoring show Top Gear, later fronting The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May. In 2015, he left the BBC after being suspended following a confrontation with a producer on the show.
In recent years, Clarkson has starred in Clarkson’s Farm and hosted the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?