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Jeremy Clarkson issues health update amid cancer battle

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The broadcaster, 66, issued the plea after revealing he is in remission from an “aggressive” form of the disease.

The revelation came in recent episodes of Clarkson’s Farm, which follows life on his Diddly Squat Farm near Chipping Norton.

He said: “This is why I have to say to everybody who’s reading this, please, please, please go and get checked.

“It’s not uncomfortable, it’s not undignified, and it’s a no-brainer.

“I did, and that’s why I’m sitting here talking to you.”

His daughter, writer Emily Clarkson, echoed the call on social media, tagging Prostate Cancer UK in her post, encouraging men to get tested.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Clarkson revealed he has since formed a support group with others who have also experienced the disease.

He said: “I was talking to David (Cameron) about it earlier this morning.

“He said the amount of people that come up to him is mostly in public conveniences and say, if you hadn’t owned up to it, I wouldn’t have got checked, and they wouldn’t have found it.

“So now there’s a group of us, (food writer) Giles Coren, David, me, one or two other people, and we meet for lunch every so often.”

Mr Clarkson said the diagnosis took an emotional toll, despite his typically stoic public persona.

He said: “I’ve seen so many people die of cancer.

“It doesn’t bear thinking about what it must be like to live knowing that an illness is going to kill you.

“It must be very, very, very distressing.”

He said: “I don’t know the history of what happened to (former Olympic cyclist) Chris Hoy, but to be told your cancer is inoperable and to still carry on, you’d have to be incredibly brave.”

During the season finale of Clarkson’s Farm, Mr Clarkson is seen in a hospital bed describing complications during treatment.

He told The Times these were the result of mistakenly resuming blood-thinning medication for existing heart and vascular issues.

He said: “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.

“I’m not even going to go into the treatment that was required as a result of that, because it was horrible.”

Mr Clarkson previously underwent a heart procedure during which he was fitted with two stents to improve blood flow.

In a column for The Sun at the time, he said his doctor advised him to give up work and take up golf instead.

He also gave up smoking after contracting pneumonia while on holiday in Spain.

Posting on the X account of his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, Mr Clarkson reiterated the importance of early detection.

He said: “The reason why I’m fine is because the doctors caught the prostate cancer early, and they caught it early because I got tested.

“Now, I know a lot of you will say, ‘I don’t want to be tested because it means someone will have to put their finger in me’, but it’s just a blood test these days.

“Look, 10, 12,000 people, men, to be honest, men, die every year in the UK from prostate cancer.

“Don’t be one of them, get tested.”

Do you prefer Clarkson’s Farm or Top Gear? Let us know in the comments





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Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace 2026 – day one revs up

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On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.

Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.

Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.

Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.

Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide. 





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UK private school’s ‘outstanding’ headteacher is to retire

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Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.

MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.

READ MORE: UK private school headteacher to leave after 11 years

The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.

The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.

While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.

MCS Master Helen Pike (Image: Andrew Walmsley)

Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.

“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.

“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.

“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”

Magdalen College School in Oxford (Image: Andrew Walmsley)

During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.

Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.

“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”

Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.

Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.

 In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.

Pupils at Magdalen College School (Image: Andrew Walmsley)

As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.

A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.

She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”





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Oxfordshire grandad with Just Stop Oil protestors glued to road

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Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).

This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.

The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.

READ MORE: Witney firefighters called out to over 50 incidents in one month

Just Stop Oil protestors in London on Wednesday (September 2, 2026). (Image: Just Stop Oil)

Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.

Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.

Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.

The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.

READ MORE: Chain closes almost 200 UK restaurants with close to 4,000 jobs lost

Just Stop Oil protestors in London on Wednesday (September 2, 2026). (Image: Just Stop Oil)

“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”

Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.

2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.

Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK ​​is “like nothing we have seen before”.

READ MORE: Broadchurch star selling £1.8m ‘magical’ Cotswolds mill house after 60 years

Just Stop Oil protestors in London on Wednesday (September 2, 2026). (Image: Just Stop Oil)

Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”

The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.

“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.

READ MORE: The Grand Tour returns to screens with brand new trio this week

Just Stop Oil protestors in London on Wednesday (September 2, 2026). (Image: Just Stop Oil)

“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.

“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.

“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.

“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”





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