‘There was a lot of blood’: Jeremy Paxman, 70, looks frail and uses a walking stick after breaking his ribs and ‘blacking out’ when his dog Derek got startled by a squirrel

• Jeremy revealed he had been injured during a dog walk in his column for Saga Magazine 
• The star said he had ‘no recollection’ of the fall because he ‘blacked out beforehand or did so when my nose hit the ground’ 
• He said: “There was certainly a lot of blood afterwards’ and added his spaniel-Dalmatian cross Derek ‘must have seen a squirrel and jerked on his lead’
• He broke some ribs in the fall during his dog walk and said he told Derek it was ‘all his fault’
• Last month Jeremy defended his habit of shooting squirrels with an air rifle while perched on the loo, branding the rodents a ‘menace’ that scare off songbirds 

Jeremy Paxman looked frail as he used a walking stick in Manchester recently – just weeks after breaking his ribs in a horrifying fall during a dog walk.

The former Newsnight host, 70, leaned on the walking aid as he was escorted into the TV studios by a co-worker – after revealing he has suffered a nasty tumble when his dog Derek got startled by a squirrel and pulled on his lead.

He held onto a detective novel, The Searcher, by Tana French as he headed to work at University Challenge.

Fall: Jeremy Paxman looked frail as he used a walking stick in Manchester recently – just weeks after breaking his ribs in a horrifying fall during a dog walk 

The presenter – famous for his aggressive interviewing style – wore a navy shirt, tan jacket, blue shorts and sandals as he headed to work.

Taking precautions against COVID-19, he wore a patterned face mask.

Jeremy revealed he had been injured and ‘blacked out’ in his column for Saga Magazine recently. 

The star said he had ‘no recollection’ of the fall because he ‘blacked out beforehand or did so when my nose hit the ground’. 

Canine companion: The former Newsnight host, 70,  revealed he has suffered a nasty tumble when his dog Derek got startled by a squirrel and pulled on his lead (pictured 2017)

He said: “There was certainly a lot of blood afterwards’ and added his spaniel-Dalmatian cross Derek ‘must have seen a squirrel and jerked on his lead’.

He broke some ribs in the fall during his dog walk and said he told Derek it was ‘all his fault.’

Jeremy said he had been to A&E three times before after ‘chopping off’ the top of his thumb with an axe, when he got a contact lens stuck in his eye and when he took a friend who had impaled their thumb with a corkscrew.   

Studios: He held onto a detective novel, The Searcher, by Tana French as he headed to work

Sighting: Jeremy wore a face mask as he made his way into the studios 

Jeremy has previously told how his beloved dog Derek had helped him battle depression – by taking him for walks three times a day.   

Last month Jeremy defended his habit of shooting squirrels with an air rifle while perched on the loo, branding the rodents a ‘menace’ that scare off songbirds. 

He shrugged off suggestions he was being ‘cruel’, responding: ‘They’re annoying me.’   

Speaking to comedian Richard Herring, he explained: ‘You turn around – not while I’m having a c**p of course – just sitting on the loo if it’s by the window.

‘You sit on the loo with the lid down. With an air rifle you can pop, pop off a squirrel or two.’

Walking aid: Jeremy was first seen with a walking stick in 2017 while on a walk with partner Jillian Taylor, then 37

Out and about: Jeremy carried a book and a folder as he headed into the TV studios

That Paxman opens fire on squirrels from his toilet was first revealed in the introduction of his 2016 memoir, A Life In Questions.

Justifying the practice, he told Herring: ‘They’re always getting on the bird feeder.

‘I love song birds and I can’t stand the fact that squirrels are always driving them off.  

‘They kill all sorts of things. For example they kill trees – entire trees are killed by squirrels. They’re a menace.’

Grey squirrels are allowed to be culled in Britain via means such as shooting, providing it is done in a humane way. 

Branded by some as ‘tree rats’, they originally came from America in the late 19th Century to become the dominant squirrel in the UK, meaning reds are now a protected species. 

Jeremy was first seen with a walking stick in 2016 while on a walk with partner Jillian Taylor, then 37.

In 2016 he was rushed into intensive care suffering from a potentially deadly blood clot in his lungs after a routine operation on his knee.

The veteran Newsnight broadcaster had the scare after undergoing surgery on his knee, which had become ‘worn out’ by jogging. He was later snapped using crutches. 

Chat: The star was escorted into the TV studios by a colleague 

Walking stick: The star used the aid as he headed into the studios to start work

Dropped off: Jeremy was dropped off at the front doors by a taxi 

Waiting: Jeremy was greeted by a fellow colleague wearing a mask at the studios

Paxman presented the BBC’s current affairs programme, Newsnight, from 1989 to 2014, during which time he gained a reputation as a ferocious interviewer. 

In November 2020 he sold his Notting Hill flat for £1million – where he lived with Canadian partner Jillian – making a £500,000 profit. 

He was previously in a 34-year relationship with Elizabeth Clough, who is the mother of his three children, but left her for Jillian in 2017.

Divorcee Jillian had worked alongside the author and presenter on two of his best sellers, including Great Britain’s Great War – and earned effusive praise from the author in the process.  

Surgery: Jeremy was pictured on crutches in 2016 – after undergoing knee surgery

Ferocious: Paxman presented the BBC’s current affairs programme, Newsnight, from 1989 to 2014, during which time he gained a reputation as a ferocious interviewer

Partner: The star is in a relationship with Jillian Taylor – who is 29 years his junior (pictured 2019)

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