The Independent is celebrating the biggest TV moments of the year so far, from the ones that got the nation talking to the scenes that moved us or made us laugh. In a series of articles running this summer, insiders share the part they played in making them happen.
Clarkson’s Farm is a show known for its blokey banter, cute pigs, and the whinging of its host Jeremy Clarkson. It is not known for intimate displays of emotion. So it came as a shock to the show’s millions of fans when Clarkson chose the Prime farming series as the place to reveal that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In scenes that aired in June this year – but were filmed back in summer 2025 – Clarkson sat down with his farmhand Kaleb Cooper and land agent Charlie Ireland to talk about dates for the harvest season. Taking an uncharacteristically sombre tone, he broke the news that he had cancer, and would be starting treatment.
The moment – completely unrehearsed, unknown to his co-stars and caught organically on camera – struck a chord with anyone who has had to share difficult news with the people they love. And already Clarkson’s candour has been a force for good: in the week after the presenter’s reveal, Prostate Cancer UK tracked a 640 per cent increase in men using their online tool to check their risk of developing the disease.
As for Clarkson, he has since announced that he’s in remission, and the show is in production once again and set to return for a sixth season next summer.
Clarkson’s longtime director and exec producer Kit Lynch Robinson, the man who was there to capture it all and was one of the few trusted to keep the secret close to his chest, recalls the intense experience of being on set that day.
What it was like filming the moment
“It was just another filming day to start with. Then Jeremy said he wanted to do an office chat with Charlie and Kaleb, with a closed set. This is when only the absolutely essential people are in the room: the camera operators, sound recordist, the director and the series producer. Everyone else was asked to leave. This was highly unusual for us, so we knew something was up.
“We speculated that it might have been that he was retiring or had decided not to do the harvest, or not to do another season of the show… we weren’t prepared for what he said.
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“The moment he told us his news, there was a stunned silence. Russ [Russell Edwards, sound recordist] and Casper [Leaver, director of photography] have known him for 25 or 30 years, I have known him 14. And those years have been incredible journeys crossing countries – it’s arduous days where you are working incredibly hard but building incredible bonds.
“We often joke that we are a dysfunctional family – a group of creative weirdos that know each other really quite well. And that goes for Jeremy too, we aren’t just his crew… we are his crew. We have been with him through thick and thin, he trusts our judgement, counts on us to make his TV shows. My point is, there is a lot of care and kindness and love amongst our dysfunctional family. We have each other’s back.
“It was pure disbelief. You can see it in Charlie and Kaleb’s faces – we all were just completely knocked for six. We have always joked that he is superhuman – he has lived in his body and seemingly bounces back from everything. But we kept our professionalism and kept filming; realising very quickly that here was a man laying himself bare for TV and we better honour that. We knew we had one job: to do justice to this moment. There will be time for kindness after. So that in itself is weird.
“When we filmed the scene, Jeremy didn’t know how this story was going to end. He’d been told it was serious and aggressive. He knew there were treatment options, but he also knew it could be life-changing, life threatening. You can see it in his eyes. He’s frightened. That word that we have all come to dread.
“Often in these situations, the patient is the one doing the consoling – and that’s exactly what happened. Kaleb kept asking, hoping, that it was a joke.
“Jeremy has been a mentor figure to Kaleb, nurturing his TV career (not so much his farming career!) and they often have a pint or cup of tea and chat. Having a mentor is something you don’t think you need until you have one and then the idea of that mentor and friend being wrenched away is huge. Charlie has worked with Jeremy for many years and they too have a friendship that extends beyond work. What you see on their faces is raw and real. The actual moment that your friend tells you they are ill.
“It wasn’t a performance or acting. I didn’t interfere with their reaction, I just let the cameras roll. The scene came to a natural end. And at that point we were still stunned. We hadn’t been party to any knowledge of appointments, there had been no warning, no signs. Once the cameras stopped turning, the wave of shock rolled in. We said all the things you’d expect – you’ll beat this, we’re with you – but privately I think all of us were asking ourselves the same question. We’re all at an age where we know we should get checked, but somehow you never think it’ll be someone you know. Suddenly it was.”
How it was kept a secret for so long
“You can talk about NDAs and security protocols all you like but actually it’s down to the love and respect we have for Jeremy and the show. This is a man living out one of the most difficult chapters in his life and sharing it with the TV show he adores making. That is an incredibly brave thing to do. It is only right that we honour that. We kept the circle small and just didn’t breathe a word.”
The powerful response from viewers and people who’ve lived with cancer
“The outpouring of love from the fans has been incredible. We know he is adored by the audience, but this has been different. Jeremy isn’t just a television presenter. For many people he’s someone who’s been in their living room for 30 years. They feel like they know him, so when he showed fear and vulnerability it genuinely affected people.
“This is a constant presence in their lives. Every time we film at the shop or the pub, people just want to come and shake his hand and say thank you, thank you for being him.
“There has been a lot of love but also an incredible amount of people realising that they need to get checked. Catch it early and you have a great chance of getting rid of it. What an incredible gift to give, a man with such clout being so open is surely going to save some lives.”
Kit’s own experience of loved ones having cancer
“Personally, I found it particularly difficult. At the time my father had recently died from cancer. My wife of 18 years had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and now Jeremy, someone I’d worked alongside for 14 years, had just told us he had cancer too. What the actual f***. Another person I care about is ill.
“The thing that has struck me with all the people I know who have been on a cancer journey is the incredible bravery and grace they all seem to be able to find. Yes, there is the crushing anxiety, and the thoughts that you are going to miss important moments in your loved ones’ lives: a graduation, a child’s wedding, but both my father and my late wife both carried with them this calm acceptance. You fight to survive and you hope for a miracle, but they both were able to find serenity. Jeremy was the same – he was calm, he was the one telling us it was going to be OK.
“There is a halo of sadness of the future you might miss but there is also the fact that you are not dead yet. You become more present in the day and all the noise drops away. You are left with love and friendships. Gratitude for the time you have had. We could all do with a bit more of that in our lives.”
