View Full Version : Richard Hammond
Cruella DeVilla
21-09-2006, 02:18
Just heard that he has been in a bad crash near where I am working at the mo, high speed crash in a jet propeled car:(
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5365792.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/5365676.stm
jbrinkworth
21-09-2006, 02:27
Poor guy, I hope he's ok. My thoughts are with him.
Julie B
He crashed in a jet car travelling at 240 mph[:O] Hope he will be ok
Cruella DeVilla
21-09-2006, 02:34
Vicky appears to be 280 mph..........Tomorrows papers reporting 300+[msneek]
Ray&Sarah
21-09-2006, 02:35
I hope he is okay.
Top Gear is one of my sons favourite TV shows, he loves the way the 3 presenters rib each other.
He lives somewhere near us, in the Cheltenham area.
ShirleyD
21-09-2006, 02:38
Our thoughts are with him and his family. Top Gear is one of our favourites too.
Cruella DeVilla
21-09-2006, 02:44
His recent 5 0'clock show has brought him to the masses too, Mr CDV also enjoys Brainiacs.
Our thoughts are with him and I hope we don't wake up to more bad news:(
LiesaAnna
21-09-2006, 02:49
how sad!!
we're great fans of his, especially with brainiacs, always got that on!!
our thoughts are with him and his family! Bless him hope he pulls through
He is in a critical condition, but apparently he was able to speak when he was pulled from the wreckage, so lets hope that's good news.
Liesel
Never watch car programmes, but Top Gear is different, his witty and enthusiastic style is brilliant, and they make a great team. Just hope he recovers fully.
We as a family love Top Gear and Richard, we wish him well and hope he makes a full recovery[grouphug]
A hospital spokesman said Hammond, who is being treated in a neurological unit, was now in a "stable" condition.
KarenScott
21-09-2006, 10:50
Thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Cruella DeVilla
Vicky appears to be 280 mph..........Tomorrows papers reporting 300+[msneek]
[/quote]
[msnembarrased] Whoops sorry about that, I heard my husband wrong last night[msnscared] It says 320 on net this morning, hope he will be ok and we don't have another tragic death like Steve Irwin[msnsad]
LiesaAnna
21-09-2006, 12:04
GMTV just got news in that Richard is improved from last night, so thank Goodness, far from out of the woods but its a small step in the right direction!!
Terrible news,my thoughts are with his family.
Ray&Sarah
21-09-2006, 12:14
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
GMTV just got news in that Richard is improved from last night, so thank Goodness, far from out of the woods but its a small step in the right direction!!
[/quote]
That is good news, lets hope he continues to improve today.
andrewandcarole
21-09-2006, 12:31
Personally I can't abide Top Gear - but Andrew is an avid viewer. However from the occasional glance at the TV over the laptop lid (!) I know that Richard is a good and much liked presenter.
Hopefully the news will be good and he will make a full recovery.
I hope this story will act as a salutory lesson to youngsters though - who may think that driving a fast car is fun.
On a lighter note - did anyone see the recent Top Gear send up of a touring caravan holiday (in which Richard was one of the 'holidaymakers'). It was one of the funniest things I've seen on TV for ages!
Carole
sammibabe
21-09-2006, 12:40
HAs just been on BBC that the hospital have issued an update that although his condition is serious there has been some improvement. Let's hope that continues. The caravan episode was absolutely hysterical:D:D
The boating episode was also highly amusing. They turned different types of vehicles into aqua vehicles and then had to get across a stretch of water. Richard's sunk first, Jeremy almost made land but turned too sharply at the end and failed. James turned into a sail boat and gracefully if not slowly made land the other side.
This was not a normal car but a rocket powered dragster that is stopped by a parachute - don't think you can take them to Waitrose to do the shopping!
Cruella DeVilla
21-09-2006, 18:14
I liked the Toyota truck that they kept trying to destroy!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Cruella DeVilla
I liked the Toyota truck that they kept trying to destroy!
[/quote]
That was amazing[clap][clap]
Just heard on SKY News Richard has a significant brain injury and should make a ' good' recovery but they are not saying a 'full' recovery[msnsad]
I guess it is still very early days, but we all wish him and his family the love and support they will need.
jackie greaves
22-09-2006, 02:46
This is awful news. I love watching Richard on the telly, don't care what he presents, he's lovely. I wish him a speedy recovery.
We too love Top Gear. The 3 presentors are brilliant. Hope he makes a full recovery but from comments being made on news programmes this may not be the case. I was speaking to a nurse tonight and she said if his brain has been shook up badly this is not good news - hope she is wrong!!!
LiesaAnna
22-09-2006, 11:18
just heard on the radio, they are hoping for a full recovery!!! as he was concious when they got to him apparently its a good sign!!
fingers crossed!
Nice guy and lovely family. Our prayers are with them all and we hope he makes a good recovery from the brain injury he has. I hear Jeremy Clarkson visited him in hospital and they had a laugh about his **** driving! So lets hope all will be well
Lisi
It does look like both Jeremy Clarkson and James May are saying that he is improving and his state has now been downgraded to stable. We really hope and pray for him and his family that he makes a good recovery.
CarolAnn
22-09-2006, 22:52
I hear he has moved out of intensive care, though still being closely monitored. Wish him all the best.
I bet he'll believe in miracles when he gets out. (God willing)
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is making "good progress" after being moved out of intensive care on Friday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
His friend and co-host James May said doctors at Leeds General Infirmary were "cautiously optimistic".
"I've had a conversation with Hammond today -- not a long one, but it was a conversation," May said. "I am not a doctor but I am his mate and I believe that, deep inside, the Hammond I know is perfectly intact."
Hammond, 36, was seriously injured on Wednesday when he crashed a jet-powered dragster as he accelerated towards 300 mph in a feature being filmed for the BBC show.
He suffered what his doctors at Leeds General Infirmary have called a significant brain injury as a result of the accident at an RAF airfield near York.
Although doctors remain concerned about his condition they have said they are "reasonably optimistic that he will make a good recovery."
A spokeswoman at Leeds General Infirmary said Hammond was "continuing to make good progress".
No further details about the presenter's condition were being released at the request of Hammond's family.
Sounds like he is improving thank god[msnsmile]
abbeyvillas
23-09-2006, 00:24
Great news that Richard Hammond is out of intensive care -still a long road to recovery (sorry, bad pun!) but this is amazing news so soon after the accident.
Jeanette & family, Top Gear fans.
Ray&Sarah
23-09-2006, 00:37
Good to hear that he is making progress.[msnsmile2]
CarolAnn
23-09-2006, 00:55
It is just amazing isn't it! But great news.
jackie greaves
23-09-2006, 02:27
Thats great news. To be moved out of intensive care so quickly must be a good sign.
Richard is winning the fight!!!
By JEREMY CLARKSON
SEPTEMBER 23, 2006
IN the wee small hours of Thursday night, just 30 hours after what is almost certainly the world’s fastest ever car crash, Richard Hammond suddenly sat up in bed, opened his eyes and asked what had happened.
“You’ve been in a car accident,” I said. “Was I driving like a tw*t?” he asked, before getting out of bed and walking, shakily, to the lavatory.
His wife, Mindy, couldn’t believe her eyes. None of us could. It really did seem that he’d had a look through death’s door and decided he didn’t like what he saw on the other side.
Later, he looked across at James May and said: “Hello C**k face.”
Despite all the odds, it seemed we’d got our Hamster back . . .
Two years ago, Richard Hammond, James May and I agreed on a plan of action should one of us be killed while making our show, Top Gear.
We decided that after the announcement of the death was made in the following week’s show, the next word should be “anyway”.
So if the Hamster had ever careered through the Pearly Gates in a flaming 200mph fireball, I would put on a sombre face, say that Richard Hammond had died and then, after a small pause, say: “Anyway, the new Jag . . .”
It was a sort of joke. But then this week, it sort of wasn’t.
The idea to drive a jet car actually came from Hammond. He skedaddled into the office one day and, bubbling with his trademark enthusiasm, said: “Hey, why don’t we go somewhere and drive really fast? I don’t mean supercar fast. I mean REALLY fast.”
We all liked the idea. But what we liked even more was the idea of James May being given the assignment.
James is known to his fans as Captain Slow. He thinks dawdling is reckless and practises the art of what he calls “Christian Motoring”. Mostly, this involves letting people out of side turnings and generally being Edwardian.
Putting him, and that ’70s barnet, in a 370mph jet car was a bit like putting just Jane Austen at the helm of a space shuttle.
Immediately, James discovered a prior engagement and said he couldn’t go. I, meanwhile, decided that I spent most of my thirties upside down in jet fighters and helicopter gunships, vomiting, and that these days I was far too fat.
That left Hammond, who was bouncing around like the donkey in Shrek shouting, “Pick me. Pick me”.
And so we did.
Today, people who have absolutely no idea at all of how television works, (Yes, columnist Neil Lyndon — that’s you, you sanctimonious, rent-a-soundbite little t**d) are saying that our producers push us to do more and more dangerous stunts in a bid for ratings.
Rubbish. Our producers spend their whole lives filling in health and safety forms and asking “are you sure?”
It’s the presenters who come up with the hare-brained ideas and trans-continental races . . . not the backroom boys or the suits.
The car Hammond was set to drive is called the Vampire. It’s powered by a Rolls- Royce Orpheus jet engine — as used by the Red Arrows — and currently holds the British land speed record of 300.3mph.
I know one bloke who has driven it and he said simply: “It was brilliant. Although I did fill my pants.”
So, the day before his fateful encounter, I shook Hammond’s hand and said “goodbye”.
“I’ll probably be killed,” he joked with a huge, beaming smile. “Anyway . . .”
He knew that he was embarking on a dangerous mission. And this is what no one seems to understand. He was looking forward to it. He likes the buzz.
He also knew that in Top Gear’s 28-year history, no one on the show has ever been hurt. Not even Ray Mears can claim that. Or Anthea Turner or even Janet Ellis.
Right now no one knows for sure what caused the accident. Film footage seems to point the finger of blame at a tyre. And that’s something you can’t prepare for.
The tyres were from a Nascar racer in America, chosen specifically because they have super-stiff side walls. But it does seem that one of them burst.
How fast was Richard going? Well on the run before, he’d reached 315mph. So it’s likely he’d hit
What a great article, thanks for printing that Julie. It sums up everything we like about the show. :) Really good news as well.
Liesel
LiesaAnna
23-09-2006, 14:20
yes i agree, a great write up, thanks for showing that, im so pleased Richard seems to be doing ok!
phew, what a scare!!
Top Gear star begs BBC to show 280mph car crash
26th September 2006
With Top Gear facing the axe, injured presenter Richard Hammond has begged the BBC to show the 280mph car crash that almost killed him.
In a bid to save the motoring show, the 36-year-old is also prepared to appear on television live from his hospital bed as BBC bosses have said they will only screen the new series if Hammond is well enough to appear on it.
Hammond, who suffered a serious brain injury after his jet-powered dragster crashed, is desperate to get in front of a camera as he is worried the programme will be cancelled before he has had a chance to recover from his injuries.
A friend of the presenter, told the Daily Star: "Richard could not stand to feel he was to blame for the demise of the show he loves.
"He's fuming they've postponed the next series because he fears that's the first step towards the BBC pulling the plug permanently. He's terrified they're going to axe it while he's stuck in hospital.
"He'll do anything to keep Top Gear going, even if it means broadcasting from his hospital bed. It would be an emotional broadcast for everyone involved and a ratings winner."
Hammond, affectionately nicknamed the Hamster, has been angered by rumours that Top Gear's future is in doubt as the new series which was due to be aired on October 8 has been postponed indefinitely.
Now out of intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary the presenter has amazed doctors with his fast recovery as only last week his life hanged in the balance.
Reunited with his two daughters Isabella, five, and Willow, two, he is now walking, talking and eating.
Producer Andy Wilman has threatened to quit the show if the BBC try to tone down the show's emphasis on speed and stunts.
While co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson, 46, said: "Swarms of bureaucratic bluebottles are nibbling away at the crash site on York airfield desperately trying to find some reason why Top Gear should be banished from our screens."
Sounds like he is well on the way to recovery[clap]
That is good news[msnsmile2]
Lesley S
28-09-2006, 14:59
Richard Hammond has now left hospital. Glad he made a good recovery.
It came as a newsflash on This morning.
He has been doischarged from Leeds General and gone to a hospital nearer his home town.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5388296.stm
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Lesley S
Richard Hammond has now left hospital. Glad he made a good recovery.
It came as a newsflash on This morning.
He has been doischarged from Leeds General and gone to a hospital nearer his home town.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5388296.stm
[/quote]
This is good news, my kids are big fans of his.[msnsmile2]
jackie greaves
28-09-2006, 16:01
So glad to hear this, thanks for posting it Lesley. Haven't heard that much on the news about him recently. It's like its only interesting if its bad news.[msnmad]
Just saw the pictures on SKY news and he looks very well[clap][clap][clap]
Ray&Sarah
29-09-2006, 03:53
Good to see him smiling and joking with the ambulance people, hope he is well enough to go home soon.[msnsmile2]
Cruella DeVilla
29-09-2006, 10:14
Amazing especially to think the crash was just over a week ago!
KarenScott
29-09-2006, 10:40
He is one hell of a lucky guy and I think he should count that as at least three of nine[msnembarrased]