richard hammond
Instagram: Richard Hammond

Richard Hammond: "The Grand Tour" Star's Impressive Career


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Richard Hammond has a seriously impressive resume, including work as a TV presenter, writer, and journalist for a variety of motorsports. Unfortunately, The Grand Tour season four has been postponed due to coronavirus, but don't worry. Hammond, James May, and Jeremy Clarkson will be back in the near future to entertain us on the Amazon Prime show.

Now, obviously, the majority of Hammond's popularity stems from his role on BBC's Top Gear, alongside Clarkson and May, but Hammond's got a lot more irons in the fire than you may realize. Let's check out what he's done in the past, and maybe you'll learn something new and interesting about the car show host.

Personal Life

Hammond was born in Solihull, United Kingdom, and he's been married to his wife, Amanda "Mindy" Hammond, since 2002. Together, they are the happy parents of two daughters.

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He originally got the nickname "Hamster" from his friend Zogg Zieglar, after he and Amanda announced the birth of their first child. His response to the announcement was "and out will pop another hamster." The name stuck and has been used countless times on the Top Gear program.

Richard even owns a mock castle in Herefordshire. Although this is not the only home that the star owns, it did cost around ?2 million ($2,494,600 USD). It definitely seems like an awesome place to live, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Some of Richard's hobbies away from cars include playing his bass guitar, riding his motorbikes, scooters, and bicycles around the city, and owning a large number of animals on his Bollitree farm. The man owns dogs, cats, chickens, horses, sheep, ducks, and plenty more. He's even obtained his helicopter license and has owned a personal Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter.

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During a news segment on Top Gear's 2010 USA Road Trip, he explained how he is not a fan of the band Genesis. If you've seen the show, you'd know that his openness about disliking the music has been used against him a number of times. Co-star, Jeremy Clarkson, for example, has pulled a number of pranks on Hammond, forcing him to listen to Genesis hits.

Top GearThe Grand Tour, and More

Before the presenter got his start in TV, he did a lot of radio work. He worked for several BBC radio stations, including Radio York, Radio Cumbria, Radio Cleveland, Radio Newcastle, and a few others. Zogg Zigler, one of Hammond's good friends and a fellow motoring journalist, eventually talked the radio star into starting motoring reviews for television. He made a transition and did some work for satellite TV, before landing a spot on Top Gear.

Since we've all seen his great moments throughout the Top Gear days, it's safe to say this was a major point in his career from a popularity standpoint. Hammond started on the show in 2002 and had many good years, until he, May, Clarkson, and producer Andy Wilman made the transition to The Grand Tour in 2016.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBhFlhuEEbM

Of all his crazy moments, one of the wildest parts moment of his career was Richard Hammond's crash in 2006. It wasn't really your average car crash, considering he wrecked a jet-powered dragster at speeds right around 288 MPH. He was in a severe coma for two weeks, suffered loss of memory, and post traumatic amnesia. Three months after the incident, he back during interviews.

Hammond's also been involved in numerous other television programs. In 2003, he became a presenter for Brainiac: Science Abuse. He got through four series of the show, before announcing his departure from the program. He also presented Crufts dog show in 2004 and 2005. He appeared on School's Out, a quiz show that tested celebrities knowledge of things they should have learned about in school. In 2005, Hammond was even voted one of the top 10 British TV talents.

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Another cool series that Hammon was involved in was UK's Total Wipeout on BBC One, where he performed hilarious voiceover commentary.

Even though The Grand Tour has been put on a pause, you can still catch up with Hammond and the gang on their social media site and YouTube channel DriveTribe. Here, Hammond regularly provides content for his massive fanbase. The site focuses on all things automotive, and it's a great place to get even more content from your favorite auto show hosts.

Richard Hammond Net Worth

Coming in with an estimated net worth of $45 million, I'd say Richard Hammond is enjoying the rewards from all his hard work. You might be able to tell he enjoys his income from his massive car and motorcycle collection. If you have a second, I'd look into it, because he owns all kinds of supercars and exotic vehicles.

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He must have a massive warehouse to store his awesome rides!. Either way, after becoming one of the most popular automotive presenters in the world, I think it's safe to say that Hammond has earned everything he's got.

Hopefully, things will get back to normal in the near future so we can get back to The Grand Tour's regularly scheduled programming. But, until then, I'm sure DriveTribe will help fill the void of car content from the trio.

WATCH: Jeremy Clarkson Was Once Held at Gunpoint During "Top Gear" Filming

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