clogged fuel filter causes engine to overheat?

My wife worked for 6 months as a car detailer in a BMW Autohaus.
She says while she was there, there had two cars in the workshop
that overheated because the fuel filter was dirty.
I never heard this before.  I reckon the mechanics were pulling
her leg (because she is umm the dumb blonde).
I don't see how too little fuel would cook an engine.
Or is this a trait of the Bavarian engines?