Clarkson’s Farm was never meant to be sad. It became a hit because it was pure, comfort-watch TV. There was the schadenfreude of seeing Jeremy Clarkson’s face when he realised a hog had been sick in the pocket of his Barbour jacket. The way the show somehow made interminable scenes of tractor showrooms and rain-sodden fields not just watchable, but entertaining. And if there were ever teary moments, it was when the team was forced to wave goodbye to a particularly cute, but financially unviable, set of pigs (there was a genuinely moving slow-motion montage to see them off to the slaughterhouse). But the final episodes of season five have changed all that, with Clarkson’s solemn announcement that he has cancer.
The moment arrives in episode seven, when Clarkson sits down with his farmhand – and de facto son – Kaleb, and land agent Charlie, to talk about dates for the 2025 harvest season. Gone is the pomposity and blokeish banter, and instead we see Clarkson’s lips tremble as he breaks the news he’s been sitting on for weeks. Kaleb, stunned and unable to reach for his usual quip, wipes his eyes. The camera is unflinching as it captures the scene, and it will strike a chord with anyone who has had to share difficult news with the people they love. He doesn’t share details at first, but later we discover it’s prostate cancer. They’ve caught it early and it can be operated on.
