Jeremy Clarkson has expressed heartbreak following a tuberculosis outbreak at his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire. The former Top Gear presenter confirmed via social media that bovine TB had been detected on the estate, which serves as the setting for the Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm. “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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The infected animal is believed to be a pregnant cow carrying twins. When asked whether Endgame, the farm’s Aberdeen Angus bull, was affected, Clarkson replied his test result was “inconclusive”, adding, “I couldn’t bear it if we lost him.” Bovine TB (bTB) is caused by Mycobacterium bovis, a bacterium that can infect a variety of mammals including cattle, deer, goats, and domestic pets. The disease spreads via respiratory droplets or through contact with infected bodily fluids such as saliva, milk, urine, or faeces.
The risk to humans, while relatively low, exists through consumption of unpasteurised dairy products or inhalation of airborne bacteria. The outbreak underscores the broader issue of bovine TB across the UK, which continues to trouble farmers due to its implications for livestock health and productivity. According to the UK government, nearly 2,000 of the more than 44,000 cattle herds in England were not officially TB-free at the end of March 2025.
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This is not the first time Clarkson’s estate has dealt with a TB-related incident. In 2023, he discovered infected badgers on the property. That same year, Clarkson’s Farm co-star Kaleb Cooper shared that three of 21 dairy cows he co-owns had also contracted the disease. The recurring outbreaks point to the persistent challenge TB poses for agricultural communities throughout the country.
