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Clarkson's health dilemma 'common among farmers'

Danielle Hunt,West of Englandand
Charlie Taylor,BBC Radio Somerset
PA/Prime Video Jeremy Clarkson is pictured standing in front of a Range Rover car looking into the distance. He is wearing a green tweed coat and he has his hands in the pockets of the coat. There is a fence behind him and beyond that is a green field and some trees.PA/Prime Video
Clarkson's Farm launched in 2021 and has become a huge hit for Amazon over five series

A fifth-generation farmer said Jeremy Clarkson's cancer diagnosis had highlighted how health problems could cause a real dilemma for those in agriculture.

The presenter announced in the latest episode of his television show Clarkson's Farm that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2025 but he confirmed on Sunday he was in remission.

When talking about his diagnosis, he shared his worries that treatment would overlap with a busy period for his Cotswolds farm - concerns 25-year-old farmer Bridgette Baker said she recognised well.

"Farmers calculate how many days they would be off and think 'how far back in my jobs list am I going to be?'" she said.

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Baker said there were no external employees at her family's beef and arable farm in Montacute, Somerset, making it tough to cover daily duties in periods of ill health.

She said many farmers were in the same position.

"Sometimes you'd think the priority is to get the treatment but sometimes farmers like to put their farm first to get the jobs done," Baker said.

Bridgette is in the foreground in a pale blue farming coat with a checked shirt visible underneath. Her light brown hair is tied back and she is smiling and looking at the camera. While the background is blurred out, a cloudy sky can be seen as well as a blue tractor with red cultivating machinery attached to the back of it.
Bridgette Baker is the fifth generation of her family to farm at Windmill Farm, near Yeovil

The charity Farming Community Network (FCN) is working in a partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to improve the support available to farming families.

FCN said farming communities often had fewer opportunities to access cancer services and support due to the nature of their work and rural life in often isolated areas.

"Cancer can impact a family business that may employ many people," a spokesperson for FCN said.

"That can have significant impacts on an individual and their families, including their housing and extended family situation or immediate welfare issues for livestock."

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