Farmer who went from triple bypass to winning Britain's Got Talent urges others to see a GP

A farmer who survived a major heart operation before winning Britain's Got Talent has urged other farmers not to ignore their health.

Hugh Thomas, 75, was part of the Hawkstone Farmers' Choir - put together by Jeremy Clarkson - which won the TV competition in May, after receiving a "shock" diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and undergoing a triple bypass.

Hugh, who runs a sunflower farm in Pembrokeshire, said he wanted to encourage farmers to seek medical help when needed and not "hold back" like he had in the past.

Cardiovascular disease includes conditions that narrow or block blood vessels and can lead to heart attacks, angina and strokes, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

"When it comes to health, farmers generally hold back and say: 'Oh, it's nothing, it'll go in a day or so'. They tend to leave it, I admit I have," said Hugh, who has run the farm with his wife Rachel since 1981.

"'Oh, it'll be fine in the morning, put a plaster on it'. There's a lot of that in this industry.

"People are not keen to go to the doctors, and they leave it, and sometimes they leave it until it's too late."

Rachel said: "Most of the farmers that I know would put off going to the doctor unless their arm was hanging off."

In February 2022, Hugh, then aged 71, felt generally well but started to experience shortness of breath when he was exerting himself.

"I had a bit of an issue with Covid, it did me quite badly, and we all thought that it was down to that," he explained.

Hugh was advised to monitor his symptoms but Rachel "nagged" him to return to the doctor for further tests.

An angiogram revealed some abnormalities in his arteries, and Hugh was then diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and told he needed triple bypass surgery, an operation to improve blood flow to the heart.

Every three minutes, someone in the UK dies of cardiovascular disease, according to the BHF.

Hugh said the diagnosis was "quite a shock", adding: "I really didn't expect that because I had no pain, just a little bit short of breath if I was doing heavy exercise."

Hugh was transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea for the surgery before being kept in intensive care for six days.

He gradually recovered and now only needs annual reviews to check on his heart health.

In April 2025, Hugh decided to answer a call for singing farmers, which turned out to be from Clarkson's Farm presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

After an audition, Hugh was among the 34 farmers chosen to make up The Hawkstone Farmers' Choir out of more than 500 applicants.

The choir excelled in their first audition in October 2025, even receiving the coveted Golden Buzzer, and Hugh said that it's "been a bit of a whirlwind since then".

They climbed their way through the competition and reached the live final on 30 May before being crowned winners, as Clarkson looked emotional and applauded as they performed their original song.

The choir received glowing praise from the judges, including Simon Cowell who described it as "absolutely stunning", "heartfelt" and "joyous".

"We had this amazing experience that weekend, obviously, and the choir has bonded really well," said Hugh.

"We don't really know what's in the pipeline, but I think there's a lot of exciting things going to happen now."