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| {{Infobox_Celebrity | |||
| | name = Richard Hammond | |||
| | image = Richard Hammond.jpg|150px| | |||
| | size = 250px | |||
| | nickname = '''Hamster''' | |||
| | birth_date = {{birth date and age |1969|12|19|df=yes}} | |||
| | birth_place = ], ] | |||
| | death_date = | |||
| | death_place = | |||
| | occupation = ] | |||
| | salary = | |||
| | networth = | |||
| | website = | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Richard Mark Hammond''' (born ] ]), nicknamed "''Hamster''", is an ] television and radio presenter best known for co-presenting the television programme '']'' along with ] and ] from 2002 onwards, and co-hosting the live annual motoring show, MPH, in ] and Birmingham ], alongside ] and ]. | |||
| He also presented '']'' and writes a weekly column, which can be read in the motoring section of '']'' each Friday. | |||
| In September 2006 he had a serious ] sustained in a high-speed (288.3 ], 464.0 ]) crash during filming for ''Top Gear''. At the end of January 2007, ''Top Gear'' was back on screen in the ] and showed the footage of the crash. | |||
| ==Biography== | |||
| Hammond was born in ], the grandson of workers in the automobile industry.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/familyhistory/fd100207.xml</ref> Originally from the ], in the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family (mother Eileen, father Alan, and younger brothers Andrew and Nicholas) to the ] market town of ] where his father ran a probate business in the market square. A pupil of ] and of ], a fee-paying boys' ] in the West Midlands town, from 1987 to 1989 he attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology and was friends with author and academic ]. He gained a BTEC National Diploma in Visual Communications but chose not to pursue a career in this direction. | |||
| ===Radio and television career=== | |||
| ] | |||
| Early in his career, Hammond worked at many radio stations, including ], ], ], and ],<ref> Accessed ], ].</ref> before going on to present a number of daytime lifestyle shows and motoring programmes on '']''. | |||
| He presented the '']'' dog show in 2005, the 2004 and 2005 British Parking Awards, and has appeared on ''School's Out'', a quiz show on ] where celebrities answer questions about things they learned at school when they were younger. He has also presented '']''. Along with his work on ''Top Gear'', he currently presents '']'' on BBC One and '']'' on ], and presented the first four series of '']'' on ]. He is also a team captain on the BBC2 quiz show, '']'', 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 ] ] until ] ], Hammond was the eponymous star of '']'' with his co-star ] of '']'' fame. The programme, which discussed a wide range of topics, was shown every weekday on ] between 5:00 and 6:00. | |||
| In July 2005 Hammond was voted number one in a ] magazine poll of top "weird celebrity crushes." Also in 2005 he was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents.<ref name="bbctop10"></ref> | |||
| As part of ] 2007, Hammond stood for nomination via a public telephone vote, along with ] and ], to be a one-off co-presenter of ]'s ] on ] ] . However, he was defeated by ]. | |||
| In April 2007, Hammond presented a one off special on ] for ] 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 ] ] ], which is set to air on ] ] on ] - which was Knievel's last interview before his death on ] ]. | |||
| ===Top Gear=== | |||
| Hammond became a presenter on ''Top Gear'' in 2002, when the show began its present format. He is sometimes referred to as "Hamster" by fans and his co-presenters on ''Top Gear''. His nickname was further reinforced when on three separate occasions in Series 7, Hammond ate cardboard, mimicking hamster-like behaviour. Another running gag by co-host Jeremy Clarkson is Hammond's supposed use of teeth whitener, and it was staged to appear that he was caught looking at a website on teeth whiteners on ''Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show''. Clarkson had found a pack of teeth whiteners in a car Hammond had tested. Hammond had objected, saying it was a set up. | |||
| In the first episode of the new series on ] ], Hammond returned to a hero's welcome, complete with dancing girls and fireworks. The show also contained images of his high speed crash, for which he made national 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 ''Top Gear'' again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referenced it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. | |||
| ===Brainiac: Science Abuse=== | |||
| In 2003, Hammond became the first presenter of '']''; he was joined by ] with ] joining in series 2. After the fourth series it was announced that Richard Hammond was no longer going to present the show due to his signing an exclusive deal with the ]. ] took his place as main presenter.<ref name="thesunbrainiac"></ref> | |||
| ==Personal life== | |||
| Hammond married Amanda, also known as Mindy<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5372890.stm</ref> in 2002, and they have two young daughters. The family lives in ], ] and also have a flat in ]. They have three horses, four dogs, two cats, a rabbit and a handful of chickens and sheep. This collection of pets includes '''''Tee-Gee/TG''''' or Top Gear Dog. He also plays the bass guitar, on which he accompanied the other Top Gear presenters when they performed alongside Justin Hawkins at Comic Relief 2007. Hammond likes to ride his bicycle in cities, for which he claims to be mocked mercilessly by fellow presenter ].<ref> | |||
| http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6605717.stm</ref> Hammond further claims that there is no reason to drive a ] in town- a dig perhaps at Clarkson who is known to do so. | |||
| Hammond is also a fan of monster trucks - a fact which can be backed up by his appearance at ] '07. | |||
| On ] ], during severe flooding, Hammond left his ] - which he had been stuck in traffic in for 13 hours - to run home for his daughter's birthday. He ran 16 miles (25 km) in two-and-a-half hours at 3am. <ref>http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1276474,00.html Article reporting on Hammond's car abandonment</ref> | |||
| ===Cars and bikes=== | |||
| Hammond is a ] enthusiast, and particularly likes the ]. He currently owns a left-hand drive Porsche 911 (which has appeared on '']'' in the studio), a ], two ]s, a ], a ], a ], a ], the abandoned Porsche 911, a ], a 1968 GT390, a 1963 ] (which he bought in a Top Gear challenge and named Oliver, he subsequently had it shipped to the UK from Africa) and several ]s. On the episode broadcast on the ], ] ] revealed that Hammond had just ordered a brand new ] much to the disgust of ]. | |||
| ==Vampire dragster crash== | |||
| {{wikinews|Richard Hammond injured in jet-powered car crash}} | |||
| On ] ], Hammond was seriously injured in a car crash while filming for ''Top Gear'' at the former ] ] airfield near ]. He was driving a jet-powered car, the '']'' dragster, which was theoretically capable of travelling at speeds of up to 370mph.<ref></ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| ] and ] reported that he was driving a Vampire jet car powered by a ] ], one of a pair built by then driver, Keiran Westman; the same car that currently holds the British land speed record at 300.3 mph.<ref name="bbcspeed"></ref><ref name="bbcstable"></ref> Primetime Land Speed Engineering have denied reports that Hammond was making an attempt to break the land speed record, although telemetry on one of the runs did suggest that he ''had'' reached 314.4mph (506 km/h)<ref name="bbccrash"/>, an unofficial British record. | |||
| The run was not a land speed record attempt; this is consistent with there being no official present, and no attempt at a second run in the opposite direction, as is required for a land speed record to be officially recognized. In the first episode of the new series, Clarkson jokingly said "He would have held the record for fastest crash, but he'd have to crash in the other direction for it to be official." However this contradicts some sources, including a statement given by the owner of 'Event Fire Services' which was hired to provide safety cover.<ref name="bbccrash"></ref> He was travelling at 288.3mph (464 km/h) at the time of the crash, but when the jet car overturned and the roll cage dug into the ground he was still going at 232mph (373.4 km/h), with the top of his helmet dragging along the ground; it has been speculated that if he were any taller, he would have been decapitated.<ref name="TopGearNews"></ref> He was then taken to the specialist neurological unit of the ].<ref name="bbcprogress"></ref> | |||
| Hammond was completing a final run to collect extra footage for the programme when his front-right tyre failed, and, according to witnesses, "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." When rescuers arrived at the car it was upside down and "dug in" to the grass. Rescuers felt a pulse and heard Hammond, who was unconscious, breathing before the car was turned right way up. Hammond was cut free, put in a neck brace and placed on a stretcher before the air ambulance arrived. "He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain".<ref name="SkyCrash"></ref> | |||
| ] reported that Hammond had broken the British land speed record and was on a last run filming extra scenes for ''Top Gear'' when the accident happened. Hammond's family stayed with him at the hospital along with ''Top Gear'' representatives who were present at the accident site, as well as ''Top Gear'' co-presenters James May and Jeremy Clarkson who had also rushed to his bedside. Jeremy Clarkson was quoted by the BBC as saying "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'Hamster' back", referring to Hammond by his nickname.<ref name="bbcstable" /> | |||
| Dave Ogden from Event Fire Services, present at the scene of the accident, said on Sky News that evening: "He was just doing the final run of the day — I don't know quite what happened — but the parachute deployed. There was quite a lot of smoke and the car veered off to the right and on to the grass, and it overturned several times and it came to a halt a couple of hundred yards in front of us."{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The cause of the crash was later determined to be a blowout of the front right tyre.<ref name="blowout"> (second image) - ] - Obtained ], ].</ref> | |||
| The ] report on the accident 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 report suggests that the accident may not have been recoverable even if the driver had reacted with no more delay than was humanly possible.<ref name=HSE-report>, Information released: ] ], ]</ref> | |||
| The crash was shown on an episode of Top Gear on ] ]; 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. | |||
| ===Treatment and recovery=== | |||
| {{proseline|section}} | |||
| BBC reports suggest that he was air-lifted from the crash scene while drifting in and out of consciousness.<ref name="bbccrash" /> North Yorkshire Police said that they "received a report via the fire service of a male person trapped in an overturned jet car which had been driven on the airfield."<ref name="skynews">{{cite web |date=2006-09-21 |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1234566,00.html |author=] |title=Top Gear Man In Crash |accessdate=2007-09-09}}</ref> | |||
| The doctor treating Hammond announced on ] ] that he had a "significant brain injury" but he was reasonably optimistic he would make a good recovery.<ref name="bbcprogress"/> | |||
| Hammond was visited several times in hospital after the crash by co-presenter ] and responded well to conversations with him. He even managed a smile after Clarkson jokingly said the reason he crashed was because he was such a 'crap driver'. It also became clear that Hammond's co-presenter James May was originally supposed to be driving the car.<ref name=driverswap>{{cite web |date=2006-09-21 |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13543464,00.html |author=] |accessdate=2007-09-09 |title=Presenter 'Swapped Cars'}}</ref> May explained later that a leaked shooting schedule made weeks before the incident was changed due to scheduling conflicts. After visiting Hammond in the hospital, May remarked: | |||
| {{Cquote|I was chuffed to see him and although he's muttering, he seems much like the irritating little shit I know and love. Even when he can't say much, he seemed to make as much sense as he does when he can talk normally...Having seen him today I do believe Richard will make a full recovery from this awful crash and, when he's back on his feet, I'm looking forward to going down to the pub with him.<ref name=mayremark>{{cite web |date=2006-09-22 |format=HTML |accessdate=2007-09-09 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/22/nhammond122.xml |author=Telegraph.co.uk |title=Richard is a bit bashed in but still the irritating guy I love}}</ref>|20px|20px|]}} | |||
| Hammond's condition was upgraded from "serious but stable" to "stable" on ] ], when he was moved out of ].<ref name="bbcprogress" /> On the same day ITV News reported that Hammond was ] and was talking to friends and family. In the early hours of ] ], Hammond took his first steps (he got up and went to the toilet), just 30 hours after the crash, according to Jeremy Clarkson, and was moved to a general ward on ].<ref name=bbcwalking>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5372890.stm |title=Hammond 'has taken first steps' |date=2006-09-23 |accessdate=2007-09-09 |author=]}}</ref> His severe injury reduced him to a "child-like state" in which he became obsessed with ], and ] which he said helped him recover.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lego saved my life after jet-car crash, says Top Gear man |accessdate=2007-09-11 |date=2006-10-26 |author=Lucy Bannerman |publisher=] |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article610782.ece }}</ref> | |||
| On ] ] and ] ] Hammond was reported to be improving so well he would be moved to a hospital nearer his home in Gloucestershire.<ref name=maybemoved></ref> On ] ] he was airlifted from Leeds General Infirmary to the ] hospital in ], to be closer to his home in Gloucestershire. His neurosurgeon, Stuart Ross, estimated a full-recovery time of 6 months.<ref name=hospitalmove></ref> | |||
| It was reported that Hammond wanted the new series of ''Top Gear'', as scheduled, to go ahead in October and also that he wished the footage of the crash/race to be shown.<ref name=showgoeson></ref> | |||
| Rumours started to circulate after Hammond's crash that ''Top Gear'' was going to be axed, but this was denied by the BBC when they announced on ] ] that the show was still in full production for its new series, although it would only air when Hammond had fully recovered and able to participate in the program. The BBC also announced on ] ] that they were producing a special programme on Hammond's crash that would show the footage filmed on the day.<ref name=topgearproduction></ref><ref name=crashontv></ref> | |||
| <!-- Please do not edit any part of this section regarding the charity if you wish to make changes please consult the discussion page where a consensus can be built surrounding edits to avoid advertising and edit wars--> | |||
| A charity appeal in aid of the ] was established shortly after the accident. Initially the money was to be used to fund day-to-day running costs of the helicopter. However on ] ], due to the generosity of the public, the chief executive of the air ambulance trust announced the money would be used to procure a second helicopter.<ref></ref> | |||
| In a series of articles published in the '']'' on ] ] Hammond described what he remembered of the accident, and his recovery so far. At the time, he was preparing to return home after five weeks, though he had been originally told that he would be hospitalised for fifteen months.<ref>{{cite news|author=Clare Raymond|coauthors=Victoria Ward|title='My nose and ears were full of earth ..I was inhaling a field'|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=hammond-exclusive%2D-%2Dmy-nose-and-ears-were-full-of-earth-%2D%2Di-was-inhaling-a-field%2D%26method=full%26objectid=17976642%26siteid=94762-name_page.html|work=Daily Mirror|date=] ]|accessdate=2006-10-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Victoria Ward|coauthors=Clare Raymond|title='I felt mad as a bag of snakes. My mind was like a foreign place, nothing in it but blankness'|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=hammond-exclusive%2D-%2Di-felt-mad-as-a-bag-of-snakes%2D-my-mind-was-like-a-foreign-place%2D-nothing-in-it-but-blankness%2D%26method=full%26objectid=17976398%26siteid=94762-name_page.html|work=Daily Mirror|date=] ]|accessdate=2006-10-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Victoria Ward|coauthors=Clare Raymond|title=Richard: LEGO saved my life|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=richard%2D-lego-saved-my-life%26method=full%26objectid=17976399%26siteid=94762-name_page.html|work=Daily Mirror|date=] ]|accessdate=2006-10-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news||author=Clare Raymond|coauthors=Victoria Ward|title='I had this incredible physical longing to see the kids..They have been so brave'|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=hammond-exclusive%2D-%2Di-had-this-incredible-physical-longing-to-see-the-kids%2D%2Dthey-have-been-so-brave%2D%26method=full%26objectid=17976403%26siteid=94762-name_page.html|work=Daily Mirror|date=] ]|accessdate=2006-10-23}}</ref> His wife told her story in an article published on ] ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Clare Raymond|coauthors=Victoria Ward|title='Richard Hammond Exclusive: The wife's story'|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=richard-hammond-exclusive%2D-the-wife%2Ds-story%26method=full%26objectid=17980970%26siteid=94762-name_page.html|work=Daily Mirror|date=] ]|accessdate=2006-10-24}}</ref> | |||
| On ] ], Jeremy Clarkson and James May received the ] for best factual programme on behalf of ''Top Gear'' and announced that Richard Hammond is 'back to normal' and made jokes about his bad driving. "I told you if one of us crashed we'd win this", Clarkson quipped. | |||
| On ] ] he was back behind the wheel for the first time after the accident. He chose his ], the classic British sports car, ahead of the other motors in his garage, which included a ], vintage ] and a ], and under doctors orders took things at a slow pace, not venturing above 50 mph. He has also since taken his first ride on a motorcycle since the crash, as publicised in MCN and in September 2007 Richard made a return to high-speed driving with a race between a ] driven by Hammond and an ] ] filmed for the current series of ''Top Gear''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6986196.stm |accessdate=2007-09-09 |author=] |title=New speed stunt for Top Gear host}}</ref> | |||
| On ] ] he attended his first day filming for the new series at the annual ''Top Gear'' Awards. During the show, he was presented by ] with a model of the Vampire jet-car which he crashed as well as a model of the ''Top Gear'' set, complete with the presenters as well as ]. It was during the same night that the show's presenters confirmed that the new series would premiere on ] ].<ref></ref> | |||
| On ] ] Hammond made his first television appearance since the crash on ],<ref name="digspy"></ref> in which he said that since the crash he has gained a better memory, particularly with regard to telephone numbers, and a new found liking for ]. He is, however, somewhat irritated by the fact that he has been forbidden to drink any serious quantity of alcohol for a period of two years, being restricted to, at most, two pints of weak lager. Hammond revealed that he has a pact with his co-presenters that, should one of them die in an accident, the following edition of ''Top Gear'' would open with the remaining two presenters solemnly mentioning the death and then remaining silent for a moment. They would then start a new sentence, in which the first word would be 'Anyway' and continue to happily report about cars. (This pact had previously been disclosed in ]'s column in ''The Sun'' on ], ]). He also described the first time his children came to see him in hospital where, in a confused state, he proceeded to take off his bandages and show his gruesome eye injury to his daughters. | |||
| On ] ], Hammond made a return to ''Top Gear''. He opened the show walking down a set of airline boarding-stairs complete with showgirls, because as Clarkson pointed out Hammond "didn't want any fuss whatsoever", and that "to build a proper set of ] steps would have cost at least £300". Hammond thanked everyone involved with his accident and who wrote to him wishing him the best. Following the airing of the crash footage he asked that it never be mentioned on ''Top Gear'' again, which Clarkson and May agreed. On the same episode it was noted by Clarkson that Hammond would have set the fastest land crash in history but he "had to repeat it going the other way" (to make the findings official). | |||
| Footage of the crash, as shown in this episode, can be seen at the Top Gear website.<ref name="crash"></ref> | |||
| ==Works== | |||
| ===TV shows=== | |||
| * '']'' (2002-present) | |||
| * '']'' (2003-2006) | |||
| * '']'' (2005) | |||
| * '']'' (2004-2005) | |||
| * '']'' (2004-2005) | |||
| * '']'' (2005) | |||
| * ''Inside Britain's Fattest Man'' (2005) | |||
| * '']'' (2006) | |||
| * '']'' (2006) | |||
| * '']'' (as a contestant, 2006) | |||
| * ''Richard Hammond's Would you believe it?'' (2006) | |||
| * ''Richard Hammond and The Holy Grail'' (2006) | |||
| * ''Battle of the Geeks'' (2006) | |||
| * '']'' (2007) (Narrator) | |||
| * ''Helicopter Heroes'' (2007) | |||
| ===Books=== | |||
| * ''What Not to Drive'' (2005), ISBN 0-297-84800-3 | |||
| * ''Can You Feel the Force?'' (2006), ISBN 1-4053-1543-1 | |||
| * ''Richard Hammond's Car Confidential'' (2006), ISBN 0-297-84445-8 | |||
| * ''On The Edge: My Story'' (2007), ISBN 0-297-85327-9 | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{wikiquote|Top Gear#Richard Hammond .28.22Hamster.22.29|Richard Hammond}} | |||
| *{{imdb name|id=1414369|name=Richard Hammond}} | |||
| * | |||
| {{Top Gear info|current_format=uncollapsed|}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Richard}} | |||
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Revision as of 12:36, 12 December 2007
hi my name is richard hammond i love to crash cars ????