'Jeremy Clarkson saved my life'

"For me, it's the symbolism of arriving at Diddly Squat - a place owned by the man who undoubtedly saved my life."

Andrew Hood, from North Devon, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2021.

He first thought about getting checked for the disease after watching an episode of the Grand Tour - the car programme presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

The 52-year-old is now set to run an ultra-marathon ending at the Oxfordshire farm owned by Clarkson - who Mr Hood hails for "saving my life".

"I'd been watching an episode of the Grand Tour with one of my sons, and they [Clarkson, Hammond and May] were seeing whether they could drive their cars faster on a lap, having drunk three pints of water and desperately needing the toilet," Mr Hood told the BBC.

A few days later, Mr Hood said his thoughts returned to the episode whilst in the shower.

"They'd had a little joke during that section around getting up in the middle of the night and needing to go to [the toilet]."

He said the jokes made him begin to think about prostate and testicular cancers.

"I thought, 'well, I'm 48-years-old (at the time) and I'd never checked myself, maybe I should'."

"I'm glad I did because it resulted in me finding out I had cancer.

"I cannot thank the episode of the Grand Tour enough for prompting me - it was that that prompted me to do it [get checked]."

Mr Hood, who is a keen runner, underwent chemotherapy and surgery during his recovery.

He said he made the decision to "rebuild stronger" and "comeback as Andy version 2.0" whilst undergoing treatment.

Now fully recovered, Mr Hood is set to run 35 miles (56km) from Oxford Train Station to Diddly Squat Farm - the focus of the hit-programme Clarkson's Farm.

On the way, Mr Hood plans to stop at Clarkson's pub The Farmer's Dog, and the Hawk Stone - a Neolithic stone in the Oxfordshire countryside that gives its name to the former Top Gear presenter's beer brand.

"Whether he [Clarkson] is there or not, I will say, 'thank you'," Mr Hood said.

"If just one person sees this run and says, 'do you know what, maybe I should check myself, maybe I should get this into my monthly routine', then every step of those 35 miles I will take running from Oxford to Squat will be absolutely worth it."

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