Clarkson’s Farm star Charlie Ireland has used Father’s Day to spotlight motor neurone disease (MND), reflecting on his late father’s “devastating” diagnosis.
The agronomist and land agent advises Jeremy Clarkson, who has recently announced he has gone into remission after being treated for prostate cancer.
Ireland posted a video to boost awareness for global MND awareness day, which coincided with Father’s Day on Sunday.
Ireland said: “Overall, I think it’s a poignant day Father’s Day – men are more likely to develop the disease, so the fact the global awareness day falls on Father’s Day makes it just a little bit special this year.
“It’s also particularly poignant for me that it lands on Father’s Day – my father was affected with motor neurone disease and he died in 2011 having been diagnosed in late 2007.
“Although nearly 15 years has passed, and time really does heal, it’s an opportunity to remind people of the devasting impact of the disease.
“Unfortunately, it impacts far too many people and anything we can do to improve, accelerate getting an answer to a cure would be absolutely marvellous.”
He has also thrown his support behind the MND Association’s Special Days Matter campaign as an ambassador of the charity, which urges people to share their memories of loved ones who have suffered with the disease.
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Ireland added: “Dad had a great sense of humour and he also treated people incredibly fairly no matter who they were, which really was a powerful trait that enabled him to talk to absolutely anybody, which was a fantastic as a boy growing up.
“Dad was a farmer, but he backed us to go and do other things with our careers, so my brother, my sister and I have all done different things, and he was incredibly supportive of whatever we did.
“He was quite pleased that I worked in agriculture, and we would talk quite often on our ‘new’ mobile phones back in the late 90s, early 2000s. He was just a great support and I really valued his advice as I grew up.”
The MND Association says six people are diagnosed with the disease, which attacks the nerves which send messages to the muscles, each day in the UK.
It says that within months a person with MND may lose their voice, their movement and even their ability to breathe.
Ireland’s message comes after Clarkson urged people to get tested for prostate cancer following his diagnosis, which was revealed in the latest episodes of the fifth series of Clarkson’s Farm.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Clarkson said: “This is why I have to say to everybody who’s reading this, please, please, please go and get checked.
“It’s not uncomfortable, it’s not undignified and it’s a no-brainer. I did, and that’s why I’m sitting here talking to you.”
