Entertainment
The Grand Tour: Who is Richard Hammond, how old is he and when was his crash?
Richard stars in the new Grand Tour special (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
The stars of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are back for The Grand Tour Lochdown special, which saw the trio take a special trip to Scotland in a range of retro wheels.
As can be expected, their journey isn’t a completely smooth ride, with one of the tasks they take on involving the presenters having to build a floating bridge in the Outer Hebrides capable of supporting both them and their cars. What could possibly go wrong?
The Grand Tour presenters initially planned on going to Russia for a huge adventure, a plan that had to be sidelined due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before starring on The Grand Tour, Richard, along with James and Jeremy, also presented Top Gear, which aired from 2002 until 2015.
So what has Richard accomplished in his career, who is he married to and when did his horrific crash occur?
Who is Richard Hammond?
Richard started off his career in radio, presenting on Radio Lancashire, where he would often interview motoring journalist Zogg Zieglar.
Before The Grand Tour, Richard, Jeremy and James fronted Top Gear (Picture: BBC Worldwide/Justin Leighton)
After moving over to working in TV, Richard auditioned for Top Gear, which is when he started working alongside Jeremy and James.
Nicknamed ‘Hamster’ on Top Gear, Richard’s height is 5ft 5 inches.
The presenter has an expansive car collection, having owned cars including a 1968 Ford Mustang, a 1950s Bentley and a 1931 Lagonda over the years.
It was recently announced that he’s planning on launching his own restoration business for classic cars, but will first be auctioning off several vehicles from his own collection.
How old is he and who is his wife?
Richard is 51 years old, born on 19 December 1969 in Solihull in the West Midlands.
He has two younger brothers and other members of his family worked in the car industry in Birmingham, standing him in good stead to become a presenter on Top Gear and The Grand Tour as an adult.
Richard has been married to his wife Amanda Hammond since 2002, with whom he shares two daughters, Isabella and Willow.
Richard and Amanda have two children together (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
When was Richard Hammond’s crash?
Richard has been in several accidents throughout his career, one of the most serious of which took place 15 years ago.
In 2006, Richard was involved in a near-fatal crash while filming Top Gear at Elvington airfield near York, which occurred when the front wheels of the dragster he was driving failed.
He had to be airlifted to hospital and suffered serious head injuries, resulting in him staying in a coma for two weeks.
Looking back on the accident later on, he revealed that the incident caused him to develop depression and memory loss, in addition to having a negative impact on his relationships with colleagues.
In June 2017, Richard had to be airlifted to hospital after crashing a £2million car in Switzerland in a horrific ordeal.
Richard shows a photo of his X-ray after his accident in 2017 (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
The incident occurred while he was filming The Grand Tour, with the presenter losing control of the electric car, called the Rimac Concept One, before the vehicle flipped while he was completing the Hemburg Hill Climb.
Richard was fortunately able to crawl out from the car before it burst into flames, before being transported to a hospital in St Gallen to be treated for a fracture to his knee.
The writer, who was by himself in the car at the time of the accident, later apologised to his family from hospital while also thanking the medical workers who were looking after him.
More: Amazon Prime Video
‘I’d like to thank all of the medical professionals who got me by air ambulance to the hospital and have dealt with me ever since,’ he said.
‘I’d also like to say thank you to James May who smuggled in a bottle of gin for me last night – I shouldn’t have said that out loud – and most importantly sorry to my wife Mindy and my daughters Izzy and Willow. I’m sorry for being such a colossal…Thank you. More news later.’
The Grand Tour Presents… Lochdown is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
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