Jeremy Clarkson: Cancer Scare Before ‘Top Gear’ ‘Fracas’

Jeremy Clarkson – the now former host of Britian’s Top Gear – has revealed that he had a cancer scare in the build up to the “fracas” that ended up ousting him from his seat on the hit show, according to reports. Writing in his Sunday Times column, Jeremy Clarkson said that the incident – in which he punched producer Oisin Tymon – came on his “most stressful day… in 27 years in the BBC.”

Writing about the cancer scare, Clarkson said that he refused to promptly get treatment for a lump on his tongue that he was told was more than likely cancer due to the fact that he was in the middle of filming a series for Top Gear.

“Two days before the ‘fracas’ I’d been told, sternly, by my doctor that a lump on my tongue was probably cancer and that I must get it checked out immediately. But I couldn’t do that. We were in the middle of a Top Gear series. And Top Gear always came first.”

The Top Gear presenter, now 55, lost his job after the BBC decided not to renew his contract at the end of March, and Clarkson has said that he felt a great sense of loss because of this, as well as due to the fact that over the past year he has lost his mother, and his marriage has fallen apart. According to Clarkson, he ended up throwing himself into his work, which may or may not have been healthy for him.

“It was an all-consuming entity, a many-tentacled global monster that was dysfunctional and awkward and mad but I loved it with a passion. I loved it like my own child. I felt sick because after I’d lost my home and my mother, I’d thrown myself even more vigorously into my job and now, idiotically, I’d managed to lose that too.”

Clarkson was originally suspended from his role as the main Top Gear presenter whilst the BBC and police launched investigations into the matter. The BBC later decided not to renew his contract due to what they described as an “unprovoked physical attack,” although Oisin Tymon, the victim of the attack, decided not to press charges. After his suspension, Clarkson received an outpouring of support from Top Gear fans, with more than a million people signing an online petition to reinstate him.

As of yet, Clarkson has given no indication as to what he will be doing in any future television or radio roles, although any work with the BBC is more than likely ruled out. Some form of show in the future, however, was hinted upon in his Sunday Times article.

[Image via Last Ever Top Gear screen grab]