Richard Hammond
Encyclopedia
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster
, writer
, and journalist
most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson
and James May
, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse
on Sky 1
.
(then Warwickshire
, now West Midlands
) and is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham
automobile industry. In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family (mother Eileen, father Alan, and younger brothers Andrew and Nicholas) to the North Yorkshire
cathedral city of Ripon
where his father ran a probate
business in the market square. Originally a pupil of Solihull School
, a fee-paying boys' independent school
, he moved to Ripon Grammar School
, and from 1987 to 1989 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology
. After his graduation he worked for several radio stations, including Radio Cleveland, Radio York
, Radio Cumbria
, Radio Leeds
, Radio Newcastle and Radio Lancashire
, before auditioning for Top Gear.
was further reinforced when on three separate occasions in series 7
, Hammond ate cardboard, mimicking hamster
-like behaviour. A running gag
is Hammond's supposed use of teeth whitener
. In a series 7 episode, co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson
claimed to have found a pack of teeth whiteners in a Marcos TSO
GT2 that Hammond had tested. Hammond had objected, claiming it was a set-up. In a series 10
episode that featured the Peel P50
, Clarkson was seen supposedly talking to Hammond on the phone about him considering a tooth whitening treatment costing £4000. Later, during a series 13
episode that featured the presenters in their office searching for car insurance prices, a teeth whitening kit was pictured on his desk. It was staged to appear that he was caught looking at a website on teeth whiteners on Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show
.
In the first episode of series 9
broadcast on 28 January 2007, having recovered from his high speed crash Hammond returned to a hero's welcome, complete with dancing girls, aeroplane style stairs and fireworks. The show also contained images of the crash, which had made international headlines, with Hammond talking through the events of the day after which the audience broke into spontaneous applause. Hammond then requested that the crash never be mentioned on the show again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referred to it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. He told his colleagues, "The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is that I like celery
now and I didn't before".
During the third episode of series sixteen, Hammond suggested that no one would ever want to own a Mexican car, since cars are supposed to reflect national characteristics and so a Mexican car would be a "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight oaf." Hammond finished with the remark "I'm sorry, but can you imagine waking up and remembering you're Mexican?!" Following complaints, the BBC defended the broadcast of this segment on the grounds that such national stereotyping was a "robust part" of traditional British humour.
; he was joined by Jon Tickle
with Charlotte Hudson
joining in series 2. After the fourth series it was announced that Hammond was no longer going to present the Sky1 show after he signed an exclusive deal with the BBC
. Vic Reeves
took his place as main presenter.
, Radio Cumbria
, Radio Leeds
, and Radio Lancashire
, before going on to present a number of daytime lifestyle shows and motoring programmes such as Motor Week on Men & Motors
.
He presented the Crufts
dog show in 2005, the 2004 and 2005 British Parking Awards, and has appeared on School's Out
, a quiz show on BBC One
where celebrities answer questions about things they learned at school. He has also presented The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend
. Along with his work on Top Gear, he presented Should I Worry About...?
on BBC One, Time Commanders
on BBC Two
and the first four series of Brainiac: Science Abuse
on Sky One
. He was also a team captain on the BBC Two quiz show, Petrolheads
, in which a memorable part was one where Hammond was tricked into smashing his classic Ferrari while trying to parallel park blindfolded in another car.
From 3 January 2006 until 10 February 2006, Hammond was the eponymous star of Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show
with his co-star Mel Giedroyc
of Light Lunch
fame. The programme, which discussed a wide range of topics, was shown every weekday on ITV
between 17:00 and 18:00.
In July 2005, Hammond was voted number one in a Heat
magazine poll of top "weird celebrity crushes". Also in 2005 he was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents.
He presented Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail in 2006. During the special, he traveled to various locations around the world, including the Vatican Secret Archives
, exploring the history of the Holy Grail
.
In one episode of Top Gear, fellow presenter James May was mocked by both Hammond and Clarkson for being named the celebrity with the worst hairstyle, while Hammond was named the celebrity with the best.
As part of Red Nose Day
2007, Hammond stood for nomination via a public telephone vote, along with Andy Hamilton
and Kelvin MacKenzie
, to be a one-off co-presenter of BBC Radio 4
's Woman's Hour
on 16 March 2007. However, he was defeated by Andy Hamilton.
In April 2007, Hammond presented a one off special on BBC Radio 2
for Good Friday
followed by another in August 2007 for the Bank Holiday. He is scheduled to present more Bank Holiday specials for the station.
Hammond recorded an interview with the famed American stuntman
Evel Knievel
, which aired on 23 December 2007 on BBC One
, and was Knievel's last interview before his death on 30 November 2007.
In September 2008, Hammond presented the first episode of a new series; Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections
on the National Geographic Channel
. In this show, Hammond discovers how the inventions of the past, along with assistance from nature, help designers today. Episodes include the building of the Airbus A380
, Taipei 101
and the Keck Observatory. Series 2 of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections began in May 2010 and has included the building of the Wembley Stadium
and the Sydney Opera House
.
Hammond also filmed an advertisement for Morrisons
supermarkets in 2008, and joined the cast of TV show Ashes To Ashes
for a special insert on the 2008 Children in Need
special.
While in New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2009, Hammond filmed several television commercials for Telecom New Zealand
's new XT
UTMS mobile network. Telecom claimed that the new network was "faster in more places", compared to its competitors and its existing CDMA network. After the network repeatedly failed in late 2009 and early 2010, Hammond became the butt of a joke when he did not return to New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2010. His fellow Top Gear co-hosts said he was too embarrassed to come back to New Zealand, and in a supposed live feed back to Hammond, the feed suddenly drops out as the "XT Network had crashed". Hammond was later given the right of reply to his colleagues during an interview with Marcus Lush on RadioLIVE's breakfast show in New Zealand.
Hammond is currently hosting the UK version of the US series Wipeout, called Total Wipeout
. It takes place in Argentina, and is co-presented by Hammond and Amanda Byram
. Hammond presents and does the voiceover for the clips in a London studio, and Byram is filmed at the obstacle course in Buenos Aires.
Hammond also presented a science-themed game show for children, Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
which aired on BBC Two and CBBC
.
In March 2010, Hammond presented a 3 episode series called Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds
, which looked at things too fast for the naked eye to see, things that are beyond the visible spectrum (e.g. ultraviolet and infra-red light), as well as microscopic things.
One of Hammond's lesser known television roles was as presenter of the BBC2 'gameshow' Time Commanders
, a sophisticated warfare simulator which used a modified version of Creative Assembly
's Rome: Total War
game engine.
Since February 2011, Hammond has presented a online technology series "Richard Hammond's Tech Head".
In July 2011, Hammond presented a two-part natural science documentary Richard Hammond's Journey To The Centre Of The Planet, focused on Earth geology and plate tectonics.
and also has an apartment in London. Hammond also plays the bass guitar
, on which he accompanied the other Top Gear presenters when they performed alongside Justin Hawkins
on Top Gear of the Pops
for Comic Relief
in 2007. Hammond likes to ride his bicycle in cities, for which he claims to be mocked mercilessly by fellow presenter Jeremy Clarkson
.
Hammond is a fan of Porsche 911
s and claims the Pagani Zonda
to be the ultimate supercar. He once owned a 1982 Porsche 911 SC
(sold in the mid-2000s), and later purchased a 2006 Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S
. In 2004, Hammond purchased a Porsche 928
for the purpose of daily driving. Much unlike Clarkson and May, he also has an interest in American muscle car
s. Hammond has owned a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
, a 1967 Ford Mustang GT 390
, and a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8
(which was purchased in the United States on a Series 12 episode of Top Gear).
Hammond had also owned a Morgan AeroMax, in which he was involved in a car accident on 9 August 2009. He also owns a Jaguar E-Type
and is also a fan of monster truck
s, having attended Truckfest
'07.
On 20 July 2007, during severe flooding
, Hammond left his Porsche 911
– in which he had been stuck in traffic for 13 hours – to run home for his daughter's birthday. He ran 16 miles (26 km) in two and a half hours (from 3 am to 5:30 am), arriving home before his daughter woke up.
An interview with The Sunday Times
in February 2008 reported Hammond as having moved briefly from Gloucestershire
to Buckinghamshire
, then back again because he missed the country life.
Hammond is a keen motorcyclist and Land Rover Defender fan. He spent over £70,000 rebuilding his 110 "Buster" in 2008.
In October it was reported he had spent over £2 million buying Bollitree Castle which is situated near Weston under Penyard, Ross-on-Wye
. It has been rumoured he has also bought a large house in the small town of Wantage
, Oxfordshire.
On Top Gear in 2007, Hammond went to Africa on an 'Epic Road Trip' across Botswana
. While there he found a 1963 Opel Kadett
, in which he drove across Botswana. Hammond named it Oliver. On Top Gear a week after the special was aired, Hammond announced during the news, that he had shipped Oliver back to the UK, where it was restored by a team from Practical Classics magazine. Oliver features on Hammond's children's science television show Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
and in another episode of Top Gear as a kind of "Hill-holder" in the trailer truck challenge (after it acquired the personal plate "OLI V3R"). Oliver is also mentioned in Hammond's second autobiography As You Do.
In 2010, Hammond was the President of the 31st Herefordshire
Country Fair held at Hampton Court in Hope under Dinmore
. His involvement caused unprecedented attendance with "nearly 15,000 people" drawn to the event to meet the presenter.
In 2010, Hammond gained a private pilot license PPL
(H) in an R44
helicopter.
.
airbase near York
on 20 September 2006, Hammond was injured in the crash of the jet-powered car he was piloting. Hammond was travelling at at the time of the crash.
His vehicle, a dragster called Vampire
, was theoretically capable of travelling at speeds of up to . The vehicle was the same car that in 2000, piloted by Colin Fallows, set the British land speed record at . The Vampire was powered by a single Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus
afterburning turbojet engine producing .
Some accounts suggested that the accident occurred during an attempt to break the British land speed record, but the Health and Safety Executive
report on the crash found that a proposal to try to officially break the record was vetoed in advance by Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman
, due to the risks and complexities of such a venture. (The report stated: "Runs were to be carried out in only one direction along a pre-set course on the Elvington runway. Vampire’s speed was to be recorded using GPS satellite telemetry. The intention was to record the maximum speed, not to measure an average speed over a measured course, and for [Hammond] to describe how it felt.")
Hammond was completing a seventh and final run to collect extra footage for the programme when his front-right tyre failed, and, according to witness and first responder Dave Ogden, "one of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us." The emergency crew quickly arrived at the car, finding it inverted and partially embedded in the grass. During the roll, Hammond's helmet had embedded itself into the ground, flipping the visor up and forcing dirt into his mouth and left eye, damaging the eye. Rescuers felt a pulse and heard the unconscious Hammond breathing before the car was turned upright. Hammond was cut free with hydraulic shears
, and placed on a backboard
. "He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain". He was then transported by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
to the neurological unit of the Leeds General Infirmary
. Hammond's family visited him at the hospital along with Top Gear co-presenters James May and Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson wished Hammond well, saying "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'Hamster' back", referring to Hammond by his nickname.
The Health & Safety Executive report stated that "Hammond's instantaneous reaction to the tyre blow out seems to have been that of a competent high performance car driver, namely to brake the car and to try to steer into the skid. Immediately afterwards he also seems to have followed his training and to have pulled back on the main parachute release lever, thus shutting down the jet engine and also closing the jet and afterburner fuel levers. The main parachute did not have time to deploy before the car ran off the runway." The HSE notes that, based on the findings of the North Yorkshire Police
(who investigated the crash), "the accident may not have been recoverable", even if Hammond's efforts to react were as fast as "humanly possible".
The crash was shown on an episode of Top Gear on 28 January 2007; this was the first episode of the new series, which had been postponed pending Hammond's recovery. Hammond requested at the end of the episode that his fellow presenters never mention the crash again, a request which has been generally agreed by both Hammond and the other presenters, although occasional oblique references have been made. On The Edge: My Story, which contains first hand accounts from both Hammond and his wife about the crash, immediate aftermath, and his recovery was published later that year.
In February 2008 Hammond gave an interview to The Sunday Times
newspaper in which he described the effects of his brain injuries
and the progression of his recovery. He reported suffering loss of memory, depression
, and difficulties with emotional experiences, for which he was consulting a psychiatrist
.
After the car crash the BBC website Have Your Say received more than 10,000 messages of good wishes and sympathy for Richard Hammond from people around the world.
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
and James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...
on Sky 1
SKY 1
The Box is an entertainment channel in New Zealand available on SKY Network Television.The channel shows are a variety of the most recent shows such as from the United States, for example CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Simpsons, Family Guy, World Wrestling Entertainments hit shows, and...
.
Early life
Hammond was born in SolihullSolihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
(then Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, now West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
) and is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
automobile industry. In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family (mother Eileen, father Alan, and younger brothers Andrew and Nicholas) to the North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
cathedral city of Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
where his father ran a probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
business in the market square. Originally a pupil of Solihull School
Solihull School
Solihull School is a British Independent school situated near the centre of Solihull, West Midlands, England.2010 saw Solihull School celebrate its 450th anniversary since its foundation in 1560....
, a fee-paying boys' independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, he moved to Ripon Grammar School
Ripon Grammar School
Ripon Grammar School is a co-educational, selective, state secondary grammar school and specialist engineering college located in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England...
, and from 1987 to 1989 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology
Harrogate College
Harrogate College is a further education college in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It traces its origins to the University Extension movement, which began in 1873 under the auspices of Cambridge University. It offers several levels of qualifications, including further- and higher-education...
. After his graduation he worked for several radio stations, including Radio Cleveland, Radio York
BBC Radio York
BBC York is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of North Yorkshire.- Early history :The station was launched at 6:30am on 4 July 1983 - a launch featured on the cover of the Radio Times...
, Radio Cumbria
BBC Radio Cumbria
BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cumbria and broadcasts from studios in Carlisle.- History :The county of Cumbria, from which the station takes its current name, was not created until 1974...
, Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.- Frequencies :It broadcasts from its studios at St...
, Radio Newcastle and Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to its current name on 4 July 1981...
, before auditioning for Top Gear.
Top Gear
Hammond became a presenter on Top Gear in 2002, when the show began in its present format. He is sometimes referred to as "Hamster" by fans and his co-presenters on Top Gear due to his comparatively small stature. His nicknameNickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
was further reinforced when on three separate occasions in series 7
Top Gear (series 7)
The seventh series of Top Gear began on November 13, 2005, and concluded on December 27, 2005. The series contained seven episodes, one of which being the Winter Olympics special. The series was subsequently followed by five "Best Of Top Gear" specials, charting the best moments from past series of...
, Hammond ate cardboard, mimicking hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
-like behaviour. A running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
is Hammond's supposed use of teeth whitener
Tooth bleaching
Dental bleaching, also known as tooth whitening, is a common procedure in general dentistry but most especially in the field of cosmetic dentistry. A child's deciduous teeth are generally whiter than the adult teeth that follow. As a person ages the adult teeth often become darker due to changes in...
. In a series 7 episode, co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
claimed to have found a pack of teeth whiteners in a Marcos TSO
Marcos TSO
The Marcos TSO is a sports car manufactured between 2004 and 2008 by Marcos. It features a Chevrolet V8 engine in either or versions. The car's components were CAD designed in England, while chassis engineering has been done by Prodrive....
GT2 that Hammond had tested. Hammond had objected, claiming it was a set-up. In a series 10
Top Gear (series 10)
Top Gear returned for a tenth series, containing 10 episodes, broadcast between 7 October 2007 and 23 December 2007. It was claimed that between the filming of the ninth and tenth series, rival motoring magazine Fifth Gear broke into the Top Gear premises and burnt down the Cool Wall...
episode that featured the Peel P50
Peel P50
The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar originally manufactured in 1962 and 1965) by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man. It retailed for £199 when new , and currently holds the record for the smallest automobile to go into production...
, Clarkson was seen supposedly talking to Hammond on the phone about him considering a tooth whitening treatment costing £4000. Later, during a series 13
Top Gear (series 13)
Top Gear returned to BBC Two for a 13th series on 21 June 2009, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig. The series contained 7 episodes. Despite forced budget cuts, series 13 contained new challenges, new power tests, more foreign travel and more...
episode that featured the presenters in their office searching for car insurance prices, a teeth whitening kit was pictured on his desk. It was staged to appear that he was caught looking at a website on teeth whiteners on Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show
Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show
Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show was a television programme shown every weekday on the British channel ITV from 3 January until 10 February 2006. The show was presented by Richard Hammond and Mel Giedroyc, and featured a variety of reports on popular and unusual topics...
.
In the first episode of series 9
Top Gear (series 9)
The ninth series of Top Gear began on January 28th, 2007 and concluded on March 4th, 2007. The series featured six episodes, with a further two specials , broadcast afterwards...
broadcast on 28 January 2007, having recovered from his high speed crash Hammond returned to a hero's welcome, complete with dancing girls, aeroplane style stairs and fireworks. The show also contained images of the crash, which had made international headlines, with Hammond talking through the events of the day after which the audience broke into spontaneous applause. Hammond then requested that the crash never be mentioned on the show again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referred to it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. He told his colleagues, "The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is that I like celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
now and I didn't before".
During the third episode of series sixteen, Hammond suggested that no one would ever want to own a Mexican car, since cars are supposed to reflect national characteristics and so a Mexican car would be a "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight oaf." Hammond finished with the remark "I'm sorry, but can you imagine waking up and remembering you're Mexican?!" Following complaints, the BBC defended the broadcast of this segment on the grounds that such national stereotyping was a "robust part" of traditional British humour.
Brainiac: Science Abuse
In 2003, Hammond became the first presenter of Brainiac: Science AbuseBrainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...
; he was joined by Jon Tickle
Jon Tickle
Jonathan "Jon" Tickle is a television presenter in the UK, who initially rose to fame as a contestant on the fourth series of the British Big Brother. He appeared before this, however, as a contestant on the gameshow Blockbusters in 1991. He is also a co-presenter on the Sky Digital television...
with Charlotte Hudson
Charlotte Hudson
Charlotte Hudson is a British television presenter. She presents the Sky One television series Brainiac: History Abuse, a spin-off from the award-winning Brainiac: Science Abuse...
joining in series 2. After the fourth series it was announced that Hammond was no longer going to present the Sky1 show after he signed an exclusive deal with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
took his place as main presenter.
Other radio and television work
Early in his career, Hammond worked at many radio stations, including Radio Cleveland, Radio YorkBBC Radio York
BBC York is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of North Yorkshire.- Early history :The station was launched at 6:30am on 4 July 1983 - a launch featured on the cover of the Radio Times...
, Radio Cumbria
BBC Radio Cumbria
BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cumbria and broadcasts from studios in Carlisle.- History :The county of Cumbria, from which the station takes its current name, was not created until 1974...
, Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.- Frequencies :It broadcasts from its studios at St...
, and Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to its current name on 4 July 1981...
, before going on to present a number of daytime lifestyle shows and motoring programmes such as Motor Week on Men & Motors
Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television and satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting in 1996...
.
He presented the Crufts
Crufts
Crufts is an annual international Championship conformation show for dogs organised and hosted by the Kennel Club, currently held every March at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. It is the largest annual dog show in the world, as declared by Guinness World Records, and lasts...
dog show in 2005, the 2004 and 2005 British Parking Awards, and has appeared on School's Out
School's Out (TV series)
School's Out was a BBC television series hosted by Danny Wallace. Based on the premise of school subjects, celebrity contestants are asked questions they would have been asked at school.-Rounds:...
, a quiz show on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
where celebrities answer questions about things they learned at school. He has also presented The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend
The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend
The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend was a British television show, hosted by Richard Hammond that recreated elements of the Gunpowder Plot in which Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the House of Lords....
. Along with his work on Top Gear, he presented Should I Worry About...?
Should I Worry About...?
Should I Worry About...? was a television programme that aired on BBC One from 2004 to 2005. It was presented by Richard Hammond. It looked at the science behind headline health scares...
on BBC One, Time Commanders
Time Commanders
Time Commanders was a series of programmes made by Lion TV and PlayGen for BBC Two that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2005. The programmes, originally hosted by Eddie Mair and more recently by Richard Hammond, featured a specially made game engine to reenact historical battles. A team of four...
on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
and the first four series of Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...
on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
. He was also a team captain on the BBC Two quiz show, Petrolheads
Petrolheads
Petrolheads is a BBC panel game presented by Neil Morrissey, with team captains Richard Hammond and Chris Barrie. The show pitted motoring wits against each other and included car stunts shot on location. There were two guests each episode. The show was produced by Brian Klein , directed by John...
, in which a memorable part was one where Hammond was tricked into smashing his classic Ferrari while trying to parallel park blindfolded in another car.
From 3 January 2006 until 10 February 2006, Hammond was the eponymous star of Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show
Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show
Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show was a television programme shown every weekday on the British channel ITV from 3 January until 10 February 2006. The show was presented by Richard Hammond and Mel Giedroyc, and featured a variety of reports on popular and unusual topics...
with his co-star Mel Giedroyc
Mel Giedroyc
Mel Giedroyc is an English television presenter, actress, and writer.-Mel and Sue:Giedroyc is best known for presenting comedy items alongside Sue Perkins. The two women met whilst students at Cambridge and both were members of the famous Footlights comedy club.As Mel and Sue, the duo were...
of Light Lunch
Light Lunch
Light Lunch is a Channel 4 lunch-time comedy chatshow broadcast between March 1997 and February 1998. It starred Mel and Sue...
fame. The programme, which discussed a wide range of topics, was shown every weekday on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
between 17:00 and 18:00.
In July 2005, Hammond was voted number one in a Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
magazine poll of top "weird celebrity crushes". Also in 2005 he was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents.
He presented Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail in 2006. During the special, he traveled to various locations around the world, including the Vatican Secret Archives
Vatican Secret Archives
The Vatican Secret Archives , located in Vatican City, is the central repository for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having primal incumbency until death, owns the archives until the next appointed Papal successor...
, exploring the history of the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
.
In one episode of Top Gear, fellow presenter James May was mocked by both Hammond and Clarkson for being named the celebrity with the worst hairstyle, while Hammond was named the celebrity with the best.
As part of Red Nose Day
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
2007, Hammond stood for nomination via a public telephone vote, along with Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton
Andrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
and Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
, to be a one-off co-presenter of BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
on 16 March 2007. However, he was defeated by Andy Hamilton.
In April 2007, Hammond presented a one off special on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
for Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
followed by another in August 2007 for the Bank Holiday. He is scheduled to present more Bank Holiday specials for the station.
Hammond recorded an interview with the famed American stuntman
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel , born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket...
, which aired on 23 December 2007 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, and was Knievel's last interview before his death on 30 November 2007.
In September 2008, Hammond presented the first episode of a new series; Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections
Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections
Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections is a documentary series originally broadcast on the National Geographic Channel, and later on BBC2. It is presented by Richard Hammond, and looks at how engineers and designers use historic inventions and clues from the natural world in ingenious ways to...
on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel (UK)
The National Geographic Channel is a television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features some programming similar to that on the Discovery Channel such as nature and science documentaries. The channel was launched in Europe in September 1997 and...
. In this show, Hammond discovers how the inventions of the past, along with assistance from nature, help designers today. Episodes include the building of the Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
, Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
and the Keck Observatory. Series 2 of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections began in May 2010 and has included the building of the Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
and the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
Hammond also filmed an advertisement for Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
supermarkets in 2008, and joined the cast of TV show Ashes To Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
for a special insert on the 2008 Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
special.
While in New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2009, Hammond filmed several television commercials for Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
's new XT
XT Mobile Network
Mobile Network Code: 503 05NZ non-geographic prefix: 027The XT Mobile Network is a UMTS mobile network run by Telecom New Zealand. It operates nationwide in the 850 MHz frequency, with 2100 MHz infill in major urban areas....
UTMS mobile network. Telecom claimed that the new network was "faster in more places", compared to its competitors and its existing CDMA network. After the network repeatedly failed in late 2009 and early 2010, Hammond became the butt of a joke when he did not return to New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2010. His fellow Top Gear co-hosts said he was too embarrassed to come back to New Zealand, and in a supposed live feed back to Hammond, the feed suddenly drops out as the "XT Network had crashed". Hammond was later given the right of reply to his colleagues during an interview with Marcus Lush on RadioLIVE's breakfast show in New Zealand.
Hammond is currently hosting the UK version of the US series Wipeout, called Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large...
. It takes place in Argentina, and is co-presented by Hammond and Amanda Byram
Amanda Byram
Amanda Byram is an Irish television presenter, originally from Castleknock in Dublin, Ireland.-Early life:Formerly a model, Byram started her career on television in 1999 presenting the TV3 morning show Ireland AM with Mark Cagney, during which time she met her then boyfriend comedian Patrick...
. Hammond presents and does the voiceover for the clips in a London studio, and Byram is filmed at the obstacle course in Buenos Aires.
Hammond also presented a science-themed game show for children, Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is a children's television programme made by DCD Media-owned September Films and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC and shown on the CBBC Channel and CBBC outputs on both BBC One and BBC Two....
which aired on BBC Two and CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
.
In March 2010, Hammond presented a 3 episode series called Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds
Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds
Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds is a BBC television documentary programme presented by Richard Hammond that features state-of-the-art camera technology used to focus on what humans cannot see with the naked eye. It is one series long consisting of three episodes.- Episodes :...
, which looked at things too fast for the naked eye to see, things that are beyond the visible spectrum (e.g. ultraviolet and infra-red light), as well as microscopic things.
One of Hammond's lesser known television roles was as presenter of the BBC2 'gameshow' Time Commanders
Time Commanders
Time Commanders was a series of programmes made by Lion TV and PlayGen for BBC Two that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2005. The programmes, originally hosted by Eddie Mair and more recently by Richard Hammond, featured a specially made game engine to reenact historical battles. A team of four...
, a sophisticated warfare simulator which used a modified version of Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly
The Creative Assembly is a British video game developer established in 1987 by Tim Ansell and based in the West Sussex town of Horsham. An Australian branch is also operated from Fortitude Valley, Queensland...
's Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
game engine.
Since February 2011, Hammond has presented a online technology series "Richard Hammond's Tech Head".
In July 2011, Hammond presented a two-part natural science documentary Richard Hammond's Journey To The Centre Of The Planet, focused on Earth geology and plate tectonics.
Personal life
Hammond has been married to Amanda Etheridge (mostly known as Mindy) since May 2002; the couple have two daughters. The family lives in a mock castle in HerefordshireHerefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
and also has an apartment in London. Hammond also plays the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, on which he accompanied the other Top Gear presenters when they performed alongside Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins
Justin David Hawkins is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist of The Darkness, alongside his brother, guitarist Dan Hawkins...
on Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops
Top Gear of the Pops was a one-off special of Top Gear, broadcast in the evening on 16 March 2007. It was shown as part of the Comic Relief 2007 appeal, mixing the usual elements of Top Gear with Top of the Pops, the music chart show that was cancelled in 2006...
for Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
in 2007. Hammond likes to ride his bicycle in cities, for which he claims to be mocked mercilessly by fellow presenter Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
.
Hammond is a fan of Porsche 911
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
s and claims the Pagani Zonda
Pagani Zonda
The Pagani Zonda is a sports car built by the Italian manufacturer Pagani. It debuted in 1999, and production ended in 2011. As of June 2009, 206 Zondas had been built, including test mules. Both 2-seat coupe and convertible versions have been produced. Construction is mainly of carbon...
to be the ultimate supercar. He once owned a 1982 Porsche 911 SC
Porsche 911 classic
The original Porsche 911 was a sports car made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. The famous, distinctive, and durable design was introduced in autumn 1963 and built until 1989...
(sold in the mid-2000s), and later purchased a 2006 Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S
Porsche 997
The Porsche Type 997 , also simply called the 997 is the current version of the 911 family sports car built by German manufacturer Porsche in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen...
. In 2004, Hammond purchased a Porsche 928
Porsche 928
The Porsche 928 was a sports-GT car sold by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 to 1995. Originally intended to replace the company's iconic 911, the 928 attempted to combine the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort, and equipment of a luxury sedan to create what some...
for the purpose of daily driving. Much unlike Clarkson and May, he also has an interest in American muscle car
Muscle car
Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...
s. Hammond has owned a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
Dodge Charger (B-body)
The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
, a 1967 Ford Mustang GT 390
Ford Mustang (first generation)
The first-generation Ford Mustang is the original pony car, manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1964 until 1973.It was initially introduced as a hardtop and convertible with the fastback version put on sale the following year...
, and a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
(which was purchased in the United States on a Series 12 episode of Top Gear).
Hammond had also owned a Morgan AeroMax, in which he was involved in a car accident on 9 August 2009. He also owns a Jaguar E-Type
Jaguar E-type
The Jaguar E-Type or XK-E is a British automobile, manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. Its combination of good looks, high performance, and competitive pricing established the marque as an icon of 1960s motoring...
and is also a fan of monster truck
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
s, having attended Truckfest
Truckfest
Truckfest is a transport festival in the United Kingdom centred on trucks and the haulage industry. As well as trade stands and music entertainment, highlights of the shows are displays of customised trucks and monster trucks...
'07.
On 20 July 2007, during severe flooding
2007 United Kingdom floods
The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007. The most severe floods occurred across Northern Ireland on 12 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire,...
, Hammond left his Porsche 911
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
– in which he had been stuck in traffic for 13 hours – to run home for his daughter's birthday. He ran 16 miles (26 km) in two and a half hours (from 3 am to 5:30 am), arriving home before his daughter woke up.
An interview with The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
in February 2008 reported Hammond as having moved briefly from Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
to Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, then back again because he missed the country life.
Hammond is a keen motorcyclist and Land Rover Defender fan. He spent over £70,000 rebuilding his 110 "Buster" in 2008.
In October it was reported he had spent over £2 million buying Bollitree Castle which is situated near Weston under Penyard, Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
. It has been rumoured he has also bought a large house in the small town of Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
, Oxfordshire.
On Top Gear in 2007, Hammond went to Africa on an 'Epic Road Trip' across Botswana
Top Gear: Botswana Special
Top Gear: Botswana Special was an episode of the popular British television series Top Gear, first broadcast on 4 November 2007 on BBC Two, as part of series 10...
. While there he found a 1963 Opel Kadett
Opel Kadett
The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 , when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.-Original model :...
, in which he drove across Botswana. Hammond named it Oliver. On Top Gear a week after the special was aired, Hammond announced during the news, that he had shipped Oliver back to the UK, where it was restored by a team from Practical Classics magazine. Oliver features on Hammond's children's science television show Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is a children's television programme made by DCD Media-owned September Films and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC and shown on the CBBC Channel and CBBC outputs on both BBC One and BBC Two....
and in another episode of Top Gear as a kind of "Hill-holder" in the trailer truck challenge (after it acquired the personal plate "OLI V3R"). Oliver is also mentioned in Hammond's second autobiography As You Do.
In 2010, Hammond was the President of the 31st Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
Country Fair held at Hampton Court in Hope under Dinmore
Hope under Dinmore
Hope under Dinmore is a village in Herefordshire, England, on the A49 road, about 4 miles south of Leominster and 9 miles north of Hereford. The Newport-to-Shrewsbury railway line tunnels under Dinmore through the split-level 1,051-yard long Dinmore Tunnel....
. His involvement caused unprecedented attendance with "nearly 15,000 people" drawn to the event to meet the presenter.
In 2010, Hammond gained a private pilot license PPL
PPL
PPL may refer to:* people* phospholipid * Pakistan Premier League, Pakistani soccer league* Pay per lead, method of marketing* Pontypool and New Inn railway station, Wales; National Rail station code PPL...
(H) in an R44
R44
R44 may refer to:* CCITT R.44, multiplexed telex over radio links* R44 * R44 road * R44: Risk of explosion if heated under confinement, a risk phrase* Robinson R44, a helicopter...
helicopter.
Charity work
Richard Hammond is a Vice-President of UK children's brain injury charity The Children's Trust, TadworthThe Children's Trust, Tadworth
The Children's Trust, Tadworth is a national charity that provides care, education and therapy to children and young people with multiple disabilities and complex health needs...
.
Vampire dragster crash
During filming of a Top Gear segment at the former RAF ElvingtonRAF Elvington
RAF Elvington, located at Elvington, south east of York in Yorkshire was a Royal Air Force bomber base which operated from the beginning of World War II until 1992.-History:...
airbase near York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
on 20 September 2006, Hammond was injured in the crash of the jet-powered car he was piloting. Hammond was travelling at at the time of the crash.
His vehicle, a dragster called Vampire
Vampire (car)
The Vampire is a jet-propelled car that currently holds the outright British land speed record, driven by Colin Fallows to a mean speed of on July 5, 2000 at Elvington, Yorkshire, England....
, was theoretically capable of travelling at speeds of up to . The vehicle was the same car that in 2000, piloted by Colin Fallows, set the British land speed record at . The Vampire was powered by a single Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus
Bristol Siddeley Orpheus
-See also:-References:* Retrieved: 29 September 2008-External links:*...
afterburning turbojet engine producing .
Some accounts suggested that the accident occurred during an attempt to break the British land speed record, but the Health and Safety Executive
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
report on the crash found that a proposal to try to officially break the record was vetoed in advance by Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman
Andy Wilman
Andrew "Andy" Wilman is a British television producer who is best known as the producer of the present Top Gear show. He has also presented segments of the original Top Gear...
, due to the risks and complexities of such a venture. (The report stated: "Runs were to be carried out in only one direction along a pre-set course on the Elvington runway. Vampire’s speed was to be recorded using GPS satellite telemetry. The intention was to record the maximum speed, not to measure an average speed over a measured course, and for [Hammond] to describe how it felt.")
Hammond was completing a seventh and final run to collect extra footage for the programme when his front-right tyre failed, and, according to witness and first responder Dave Ogden, "one of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us." The emergency crew quickly arrived at the car, finding it inverted and partially embedded in the grass. During the roll, Hammond's helmet had embedded itself into the ground, flipping the visor up and forcing dirt into his mouth and left eye, damaging the eye. Rescuers felt a pulse and heard the unconscious Hammond breathing before the car was turned upright. Hammond was cut free with hydraulic shears
Hydraulic Rescue Tools
Hydraulic rescue tools are used by emergency rescue personnel to assist vehicle extrication of crash victims, as well as other rescues from small spaces. These tools include cutters, spreaders, door busters and rams...
, and placed on a backboard
Long spine board
A spinal board, also known as a long spine board , longboard, spineboard, or backboard, is a patient handling device used primarily in pre-hospital trauma care designed to provide rigid support during movement of a patient with suspected spinal or limb injuries...
. "He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain". He was then transported by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It was introduced on 1 April 2000, and currently operates two aircraft. The helicopters provide a swift response time and access to isolated locations, such as beaches,...
to the neurological unit of the Leeds General Infirmary
Leeds General Infirmary
Leeds General Infirmary, also known as the LGI or, more correctly, The General Infirmary at Leeds, is a large teaching hospital based in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust....
. Hammond's family visited him at the hospital along with Top Gear co-presenters James May and Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson wished Hammond well, saying "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'Hamster' back", referring to Hammond by his nickname.
The Health & Safety Executive report stated that "Hammond's instantaneous reaction to the tyre blow out seems to have been that of a competent high performance car driver, namely to brake the car and to try to steer into the skid. Immediately afterwards he also seems to have followed his training and to have pulled back on the main parachute release lever, thus shutting down the jet engine and also closing the jet and afterburner fuel levers. The main parachute did not have time to deploy before the car ran off the runway." The HSE notes that, based on the findings of the North Yorkshire Police
North Yorkshire Police
North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the unitary authority of York in northern England. The force covers England's largest county and comprises three area command units...
(who investigated the crash), "the accident may not have been recoverable", even if Hammond's efforts to react were as fast as "humanly possible".
The crash was shown on an episode of Top Gear on 28 January 2007; this was the first episode of the new series, which had been postponed pending Hammond's recovery. Hammond requested at the end of the episode that his fellow presenters never mention the crash again, a request which has been generally agreed by both Hammond and the other presenters, although occasional oblique references have been made. On The Edge: My Story, which contains first hand accounts from both Hammond and his wife about the crash, immediate aftermath, and his recovery was published later that year.
In February 2008 Hammond gave an interview to The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
newspaper in which he described the effects of his brain injuries
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
and the progression of his recovery. He reported suffering loss of memory, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, and difficulties with emotional experiences, for which he was consulting a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
.
After the car crash the BBC website Have Your Say received more than 10,000 messages of good wishes and sympathy for Richard Hammond from people around the world.
TV shows
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Motorweek (Men & Motors TV series) | Presenter |
| 2002–present | Top Gear | Presenter |
| 2003–06 | Brainiac: Science Abuse Brainiac: Science Abuse Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions... |
Presenter |
| 2004–05 | Crufts Crufts Crufts is an annual international Championship conformation show for dogs organised and hosted by the Kennel Club, currently held every March at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. It is the largest annual dog show in the world, as declared by Guinness World Records, and lasts... |
Presenter |
| Should I Worry About...? Should I Worry About...? Should I Worry About...? was a television programme that aired on BBC One from 2004 to 2005. It was presented by Richard Hammond. It looked at the science behind headline health scares... |
Presenter | |
| 2005 | The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend was a British television show, hosted by Richard Hammond that recreated elements of the Gunpowder Plot in which Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the House of Lords.... |
Presenter |
| Time Commanders Time Commanders Time Commanders was a series of programmes made by Lion TV and PlayGen for BBC Two that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2005. The programmes, originally hosted by Eddie Mair and more recently by Richard Hammond, featured a specially made game engine to reenact historical battles. A team of four... |
Presenter | |
| Inside Britain's Fattest Man | Presenter | |
| 2006 | Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show was a television programme shown every weekday on the British channel ITV from 3 January until 10 February 2006. The show was presented by Richard Hammond and Mel Giedroyc, and featured a variety of reports on popular and unusual topics... |
Presenter |
| Petrolheads Petrolheads Petrolheads is a BBC panel game presented by Neil Morrissey, with team captains Richard Hammond and Chris Barrie. The show pitted motoring wits against each other and included car stunts shot on location. There were two guests each episode. The show was produced by Brian Klein , directed by John... |
Contestant | |
| School's Out School's Out (TV series) School's Out was a BBC television series hosted by Danny Wallace. Based on the premise of school subjects, celebrity contestants are asked questions they would have been asked at school.-Rounds:... |
Contestant | |
| Richard Hammond: Would You Believe It? | Presenter | |
| Richard Hammond: The Holy Grail | Presenter | |
| Battle of the Geeks | Presenter | |
| 2007 | Last Man Standing Last Man Standing (UK TV series) Last Man Standing and latterly Last Woman Standing is a BBC reality TV show that was first aired on 26 June 2007... |
Narrator |
| Helicopter Heroes | Narrator | |
| Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel is a one-off television documentary presented by Richard Hammond and first broadcast on 23 December 2007 on BBC Two. The show was produced by Visual Voodoo and the executive producer was Ben Devlin.... |
Presenter | |
| 2008 | BBC Timewatch Timewatch Timewatch is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29th September 1982 and is produced by the BBC, the Timewatch brandname is used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual... |
Narrator |
| Sport Relief | Presenter | |
| 2009 | Richard Hammond's Blast Lab Richard Hammond's Blast Lab Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is a children's television programme made by DCD Media-owned September Films and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC and shown on the CBBC Channel and CBBC outputs on both BBC One and BBC Two.... |
Presenter |
| 2009 – present | Total Wipeout Total Wipeout Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large... |
Co-presenter with Amanda Byram |
| Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections is a documentary series originally broadcast on the National Geographic Channel, and later on BBC2. It is presented by Richard Hammond, and looks at how engineers and designers use historic inventions and clues from the natural world in ingenious ways to... |
Presenter | |
| 2010 | Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds is a BBC television documentary programme presented by Richard Hammond that features state-of-the-art camera technology used to focus on what humans cannot see with the naked eye. It is one series long consisting of three episodes.- Episodes :... |
Presenter |
| Sport Relief 2010 Sport Relief 2010 Sport Relief 2010, was a fund raising event organised by Sport Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 19 March 2010 to early the following morning... |
Co-presenter with Claudia Winkleman Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne I. Winkleman is an English television presenter, film critic, radio personality and journalist.- Early life and family :... |
|
| Hammond Meets Moss | Presenter | |
| 2011 | Richard Hammond's Journey To... | Presenter |
DVDs
- Richard Hammond's Top Gear Interactive Challenge Quiz (2007, 2|Entertain).
- Richard Hammond's Top Gear Interactive Stunt Challenge Quiz (2008, 2|Entertain).
- Richard Hammond's Top Gear Uncovered: The DVD Special (2009, 2|Entertain).
- Top Gear Apocalypse (2010)
- Top Gear At The Movies (2011)
Television Advertisements
- Morrisons (2008)
- Morrisons (Christmas 2008)
- Morrisons (2009)
- Morrisons (Christmas 2009)
- Top Gear Turbo Challenge Trading Cards Test Set (2009)
- Top Gear Turbo Challenge Trading Cards (2010)
- Top Gear Interactive Challenge DVD (2007)
- Top Gear Interactive Stunt Challenge DVD (2009)
- Top Gear Uncovered DVD (2009)
- Top Gear [Re-Runs On Dave] (2009)
- Telecom XT network NZ (2009)
External links
- Donations to Yorkshire Air Ambulance double as a result of their life-saving rescue of Richard Hammond
- Richard Hammond on Top Gear
- Q&A – The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
– 2009-1-3. Hammond questions about himself. Retrieved 2009-6-29.