Jeremy Clarkson backtracks on NHS comments after undergoing ‘urgent’ hospital treatment

He was hospitalised just hours after criticising the NHS in his column

In a recent column, he said the NHS was ‘just not financially viable anymore’ and dubbed it a ‘creaking old monster’.

However, just hours after the column went live on The Sunday Times, Clarkson says he was rushed to hospital.

"Nine hours after that piece appeared on the nation’s kitchen tables, I needed to go to hospital in something of a hurry," he wrote in his latest piece, which was published on October 12.

"I was poorly and I needed urgent hospital treatment and the NHS was my only option."

The 65-year-old did not reveal the treatment that he had to undergo, but said that it was ‘Defcon 1 painful’.

He revealed that he had to stay in hospital overnight, and was nervous about the fact that he had been so critical of the NHS in the past.

"Mercifully, though, there was no indication they either knew, or cared, who I was when I arrived," he said.

Clarkson went on to say that he ‘genuinely couldn’t find anything to moan about’ during his time in a hospital, and said it was 'spotless' and praised how 'kind' the staff were.

"They even made me better — for which I shall be eternally grateful," he said.

The Grand Tour presenter went on to insist that he had not changed his mind about the NHS as a whole.

"Yes, it’s an excellent organisation and the frontline staff are superb. But in its current state, we as a nation cannot afford it," he said.