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Standing around at his farm, waiting for a truck to arrive, television presenter, journalist, best-selling author and motoring icon Jeremy Clarkson realised he may be having a heart attack.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, Clarkson said he was scrolling on his phone when he realised he had pins and needles in his arm, while also experiencing a tight chest and a "clammy" forehead.
Realising he might be in the early stages of a heart attack, he called an ambulance and was taken to hospital in nearby Oxford.
"They did six or seven tests, I think, to determine whether I'd had a heart attack, and discovered that I wasn't having one – and hadn't had one," he told The Sun.
"And then they did one last test – and I had my coat on ready to go home – and put me into what looked like an enormous Polo mint, and were able to see straight away that [I had] three arteries … [that were] just calcified, fat filled," he said.
"So I was in grave danger without realising it. But they put a stent in – two stents, in fact – and here I am."
Clarkson confessed he had lived an unhealthy lifestyle throughout his 64 years, eating poorly and drinking to excess – and smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day, up until he gave up seven years ago.
"I really did push it. And it all has to stop – I mean, really, all of it," Clarkson admitted.
"I'm not allowed now to eat sausages, bacon, beef, pork, lamb, anything fried, apparently egg yellows are bad – [alcohol] is out. The list is endless. It's really anything you'd ever want to eat," he added.
Now filming the fifth season of his Amazon show Clarkson's Farm, the presenter and best-selling author says he's not even allowed to drink his own beer – branded Hawkstone, made from ingredients grown on his farm.
Despite the cheeky beverage, Clarkson appears to have turned a leaf, revealing during the interview he ate yoghurt with blueberries for breakfast, an apple for lunch, and was having prawns for dinner – with water to drink.
"I've now got a butcher's shop and a brewery, and I can't eat meat and I can't drink," he chuckled.
"Life is like being given a million pounds, and you can either invest it and live off the interest … and that's fine, if you want to do that, you want to stay healthy and fit your entire life – I didn't.
"I just thought, right, I've got a million pounds, I'm off to Ibiza and I'm going to buy a Ferrari," Clarkson acknowledged.
While the change has been a major one for the former partygoer, Clarkson says he had no intention of slowing down, and will keep working his various jobs.
"But I'm only living like other people have lived all their lives, so I'm not going to moan about it – well, I am, but not loudly."
Ben Zachariah is an experienced writer and motoring journalist from Melbourne, having worked in the automotive industry for more than two decades. Ben began writing professionally more than 15 years ago and was previously an interstate truck driver. He completed his MBA in Finance in early 2021 and is considered an expert on classic car investment.
