Jeremy Clarkson has said his determination to overhaul his lifestyle after his recent health battles is fuelled by his desperation to watch his grandchildren grow up. The 66-year-old former Top Gear star, who revealed he had prostate cancer last week, now recognises he needs to look after himself if he wants to stay in later life.
His eldest child Emily Clarkson has two children with her husband Alex Andrew: Arlo, three, and Xanthe, one. Spending more time with them is top of Clarkson's list of priorities after his recent cancer and heart health struggles.
Cancer diagnosis and remission
Jeremy announced he is in remission after he revealed he had prostate cancer in the latest episodes of the fifth season of his series Clarkson's Farm. He said the disease is "aggressive" but had been discovered early. He underwent an operation to remove part of his prostate, and a follow-up PSA test two months ago revealed no indication of cancer.
However, he experienced complications during treatment. The series ended with him saying that there has been some good news since the cameras stopped rolling.
Heart health scare
When he restarted blood-thinning medication for his heart problems following his cancer treatment without consulting a doctor first, it led to another 'terrifying' health scare. He told The Sunday Times: "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. It [resulted in] a very big emergency in the middle of the night."
He added: "I’m not even going to go into the treatment that was required as a result of that, because it was horrible. I didn’t ask a doctor, I just thought, ‘I’m sure it will be all right to go back on blood thinners’."
Lifestyle changes
Clarkson has made significant changes to his lifestyle, including adopting a vegetarian diet for the first time. He told The Sunday Times: "I really like seeing my grandchildren. I want to watch them grow up. I drive much more slowly. I'm a bit of a dawdler. I go for walks a lot. I have vegetarian food."
He previously branded alternative diets as "utter madness" but now enjoys meat-free meals. He also says speedy car rides could be a thing of the past after slowing right down on and off the road.
Previous heart procedure
The broadcaster, who now presents Clarkson's Farm, underwent a heart procedure in 2024 after he experienced a "sudden deterioration" in his health and had a stent fitted. He said two years ago that he went to hospital in an ambulance. When he stood up he "struggled" with swimming, and could not descend a flight of stairs "without holding someone's hand".
"I certainly wasn’t having a heart attack. But if it hadn’t looked that way, I never would have been sent to hospital," he said at the time. "These problems all manifested themselves in one day, which made the rest of my holiday extremely relaxing because all I did was sit in a chair drinking wine and eating cheese. Back at home, though, the sudden deterioration began to gather pace. I woke on Wednesday morning not feeling too good. I was clammy and there was a tightness in my chest."
