Kaleb Cooper breaks silence after Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘aggressive’ cancer diagnosis
Kaleb Cooper has given an update after ‘best mate’ Jeremy Clarkson revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Clarkson, 66, announced that he had been diagnosed with an ‘aggressive’ form of prostate cancer, during a newly released episode of Clarkson’s Farm.
In emotional scenes, Clarkson told Cooper and Charlie Ireland: “I’ve got cancer.
“I’ve known since May. I had a medical, remember? Back in May.
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“I disappeared off the other week and had a biopsy done, and it is cancer and it’s aggressive, but it’s really early - so the treatment will be, you know…”
Cooper has now spoken out for the first time since the news was shared publicly telling the Daily Mail that Clarkson is doing well.
“He is good. The spirits are high, which is good,” he told the Daily Mail.
“If anything like this happens to any of your friends and you just said to my best mate, you've got to be supported through that whole journey.
“And that's where I've been, I've been right by his side and his spirits are really good, so thank you.”
Cooper praised his pal for his ‘strong mind’ when facing the illness and stressed the importance of early detection and getting checked out.
“The message about catching anything early is quite important,” he said.
In the final episode of this season, Clarkson revealed that he had undergone an operation to remove part of his prostate.
“I won't know whether it's worked or not until November probably,” he said from a hospital bed.
“The prostate, 10 percent of it's dead, the 10 percent where the cancer is.”
He continued: “We started season five with me in a hospital bed and here we are at the end of season five and I'm back in a hospital bed.
“What I wanted to say was if this is all successful, I'll see you for season six, and if it isn't, I won't. Take care, everyone.”
The emotional new episodes were released just hours after Clarkson himself warned fans that they’d be ‘a difficult watch’.
Taking to Instagram, Clarkson said: "Got some good news and some sombre news. Good news is that Hawkstone has finally had an advert accepted and it will be shown just before kick-off in the England match tomorrow evening.
"Sombre news, Clarkson's Farm. Ordinarily, we try to keep the show charming and cheerful. But the final two episodes, which drop in the middle of the night tonight, are none of those things really. They're a difficult watch. They're really, really difficult."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Topics: Jeremy Clarkson, Clarkson's Farm, Kaleb Cooper
Claire Reid