October 21, 2024, 05:10

Jeremy Clarkson has spoken out for the first time after revealing he had urgent heart surgery.

The Clarkson’s Farm star revealed this weekend that at the time of the procedure, he was days from death due to blocked arteries.

Giving an update on Sunday evening, he said: “I’m very grateful to everyone who has sent messages of support, but I’m fine.

“I just have to not do any manual labor or empty the dishwasher for the next four years,” he told The Sun.

“At least I think that’s what the doctor said.”

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Earlier explaining his health problems, Clarkson said a swim while on holiday in the Indian Ocean appeared to cause him difficulty using stairs, which when he returned home meant that ‘a “sudden deterioration began to accelerate”.

He said he was experiencing “clammy” symptoms, with “tightness in his chest” and “tingling in his left arm”.

After learning that former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond had suffered a fatal heart attack, he decided to see his doctor.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Clarkson said he went to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital by ambulance, where a heart attack was ruled out after undergoing an electrocardiogram (ECG), blood tests and x-rays .

He said he then went to an “operating theater” after further examinations and doctors said he may be “days away” from becoming seriously ill.

“It appears that of the arteries supplying my heart with nourishing blood, one was completely blocked and the second of three was heading in that direction,” Clarkson said.

He said a stent, which can save lives and stop future heart attacks by improving blood flow to the heart, was placed in about two hours.

“It wasn’t particularly painful. It’s just strange,” he said, adding that he thought, “Crikey, that was tight.”

Clarkson concluded by saying he “wondered what water tasted like and if it was possible to make celery interesting” following the health crisis, when he appeared to be considering reducing his meat consumption.

He previously revealed he had to quit smoking after contracting pneumonia while on holiday in Spain.