When Did Jeremy Clarkson Have A Heart Attack

So, you’ve heard the rumor, right? The one about Jeremy Clarkson and his heart having a bit of a crisis. Did the loud, car-loving, farming-obsessed telly presenter actually have a heart attack? The short answer is yes. The long answer is… well, it’s a bit of a Clarkson-esque drama.

The Big Scare in the Maldives

Picture it: December 2017. Jeremy is on a sun-drenched holiday in the Maldives. He’s probably drinking a questionable cocktail and grumbling about the Wi-Fi speed.

Then it hit him. A tightness in his chest. He later described it as feeling like a rhino was sitting on him. That’s not a typical holiday souvenir, is it?

He went to a local hospital. Good move, Jeremy. They did a quick check and told him to go straight back to the UK. Like, immediately. No more cocktails for you, mate.

The “Minor” Bit That Wasn’t

Back in Britain, doctors did a full workup. They found two blocked arteries. One was 99% blocked. That’s not a traffic jam; that’s a parking lot.

They popped in two stents—those tiny mesh tubes. It’s a routine procedure, but for Clarkson, it was a major wake-up call. He admitted he’d been ignoring the signs for months.

“I felt a bit puffed out walking up hills,” he said later. Classic Jeremy. A man who drives at 200 mph but can’t climb a gentle slope without gasping.

But Wait—Did He Actually Call It a Heart Attack?

Here’s the funny bit. Clarkson himself was a bit cagey about the wording. He called it a “minor heart attack” or an “artery blockage.” Some doctors might say it wasn’t a full-blown, Hollywood-style collapse.

But let’s be real: a 99% blockage that nearly stops your heart is a heart attack in my book. Or, at the very least, a very aggressive warning.

He even joked that his heart was like a “broken-down car.” He’s a petrolhead. Of course he would compare his ticker to a dodgy engine.

What Happened Next? (The Diet Part)

You’d think a near-death scare would make a man swap his bacon butty for a kale smoothie. Not Clarkson. He famously said his new diet would be “less fat, less salt, and less sugar.”

But then he added: “I’m still going to eat steak.” And bacon. And probably a whole cow if it made him happy. Old habits die hard, don’t they?

He did give up smoking. That was a big one. He claimed he switched to vaping, which he described as “sucking on a Dyson.” The man can make anything sound ridiculous.

The Real Timeline for Your Calendar

So, to pin it down: December 2017 is the official month. He was 57 years old. It happened in the Maldives, but the stents went in at a London hospital.

He wrote about it in his column for The Sunday Times. That article is a classic Clarkson read—equal parts bravado, denial, and dry humor. He basically said, “I had a heart thing, but I’m too busy to die.”

He even joked that his doctor told him to “stop being a pillock.” Doctors have great bedside manners sometimes.

Did It Slow Him Down? (Spoiler: No)

If you thought a heart attack would turn Jeremy Clarkson into a gentle yoga instructor, you have not been paying attention. Two months later, he was back on The Grand Tour, driving a hideously overpowered car through a swamp.

He’s now a full-time farmer on Clarkson’s Farm. He still yells at tractors, swears at sheep, and panics about the weather. Does he seem like a man who’s learned to relax? Not one bit.

But here’s the twist: he says the heart attack made him appreciate things more. He spends more time with his family. He’s slightly less grumpy. “Slightly” being the key word.

The Moral of the Story (If There Is One)

So, when did Jeremy Clarkson have a heart attack? December 2017. But when did he actually listen to his body? Probably never. He’s a 65-year-old man who still acts like a lad at a car show.

If you ever feel a rhino sitting on your chest, don’t ignore it. Don’t think you’re too tough. Even Jeremy Clarkson—the man who once drove a car into a shed for fun—had to go to the hospital.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go eat a steak. Because if Clarkson can survive a blocked artery and still eat steak, so can I. Cheers, Jeremy. You madman.