Jeremy Clarkson has said he has to adapt to a new way of life after undergoing “very urgent” heart surgery. The former Top Gear host recently had two stents fitted to improve blood flow to his heart.
Clarkson, 64, who filmed the final episode of Amazon’s “The Grand Tour” last year, said she was unfazed by the surgery but must stop drinking, exercise and eat healthy. He said facing the prospect was a real fear.
The broadcaster wrote in a column for The Sun: “When I go to a party, I have to stand in the corner drinking refreshing elderflower juice and get home around 9:30. That’s scary too.”
Despite retiring from car shows with longtime collaborators Richard Hammond and James May, Clarkson maintains a busy schedule. The 64-year-old owns a farm, brewery and pub, writes three newspaper columns and hosts ITV’s game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Mr Clarkson must cut out the “interesting parts” of red meat, crisps, butter, chocolate and eggs. He said, “It’s been a week since we started living under the new system, and it’s scary.”
He also needs to exercise, but writes that he thinks of exercise as “something you do when you go from your car to the pub, or from your lunch table to your living room,” although he’s reluctant to do so.
“But apparently, once you recover from surgery, you have to do more. You also have to take a kind of ‘walk’ that eventually takes you back to where you started.” What does that mean?
Clarkson dismissed the idea of quitting her job, saying she would just “keep going” and change her eating habits.
Despite his opposition to the new regime, Clarkson knew he wanted to stay after undergoing heart surgery. “I’m 64 years old now, but when the Grim Reaper poked my nose at my door last week, I actually felt a strong desire to live a little longer. I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I saw the dawn this morning. But it was so great, I want to see more.”
More than 39,000 people in the UK will die prematurely from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, coronary heart disease and stroke in 2022, according to research from the British Heart Foundation, with an average of 750 deaths each week. .
